Travis and Jason Kelce Secure Another Big-Time Off-Field Win

When it comes to professional football players, it's tough to think of anyone riding higher on the metaphorical hog than Jason and Travis Kelce.

The brothers are shining on the field—the Eagles are flying high atop the league standings, and the Chiefs, despite some hiccups, are looking strong in the AFC—but the hits don't end there. They've both been thrust into the pop culture spotlight and, on the whole, seem to be coping with the attention rather well.

And that larger footprint has come with some hits and a handful of misses. Travis, for example, filed for some new trademarks earlier this year, and one of his newer business ventures was roasted on social media, proving that even NFL stars can't win them all. Jason, on the other hand, scored some Dippin' Dots for the Eagles offensive linemen.

And, beyond that, the two brothers joined forces to release a holiday song, which quickly soared to the top of the charts.

Now, the Kelces have another audio hit to their name. Their New Heights podcast, unsurprisingly, performed well in Spotify's year-end rankings.

'New Heights' Is a 2023 Hit

A common complaint about modern sports is that things have gotten a bit sanitized. Press conferences are rife with clichés, and moments that show a bit of personality—think of Tyreek Hill's backflip from earlier this season—are frowned upon.

Perhaps that explains the success of New Heights.

On the podcast, virtually anything can happen. Jason Kelce can reveal his pregame bathroom habits and the challenges of staring down limited stalls in a visitors' locker room. Travis can field an unexpected offer from Machine Gun Kelly. There's been talk of Halloween candy, and, on occasion, football even makes it into the conversation.

And while that might sound like a bizarre collection of topics, the listeners are eating things up. Well, at least those on Spotify.

In the steaming service's annual "Spotify Wrapped" rankings, New Heights landed in the top 25 U.S. podcasts, sitting at No. 18. And while that might sound a bit lowly—in the sports world, that would probably put the show outside of the playoffs—consider the rest of the list. Two brothers shooting the breeze outperformed the likes of Dateline NBC.

But the hits don't stop there.

As Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Trania pointed out: "According to Spotify, New Heights was the Top Sports Podcast Globally, the Top Sports Podcast in the U.S. and the Top American Football Podcast in the U.S."

Again, consider the scale of that. While you can cynically argue that podcasts cater to a certain audience, and those listeners might be more interested in the Kelces' hijinks, being a top performer on both the U.S. and global scales is nothing to sneeze at. And these are two football players who record amid all of their other responsibilities.

For the podcast's part, New Heights tweeted a screenshot showing it peaked at No. 1 on the Spotify charts while thanking its listeners.

The elephant in the room, of course, is the Taylor Swift factor. Ever since Travis became linked to the pop star, interest in both him and his brother started transcending football. The Kelces previously thanked Swift fans for helping their Christmas song surge up the charts, so it's completely reasonable to credit Swifties for at least a portion of the podcast's success.

As the cliché says, no publicity is bad publicity. Travis and Jason Kelce are witnessing that reality firsthand.