Travis Kelce Has Big Hollywood Ambitions – Movies, TV and a CAA Team to Match | Exclusive

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Travis Kelce could have a soaring and lucrative entertainment career — as long as he doesn’t blow his relationship with Taylor Swift, marketing experts say.

In the shadow of his football superstardom, the 34-year-old Chiefs tight end has already set the stage to make his mark in Hollywood. Industry insiders tell TheWrap that Kelce and his team are considering movie roles, developing unscripted shows for the star, exploring comedy opportunities and pursuing product endorsements.

The Wrap has also exclusively learned that a host of top filmmakers — including “White Lotus” producer David Bernad — have been flying to Kansas City during the football season to meet with Kelce about a reality show he hopes to produce and appear in.

In addition to that Kelce is already financing and executive producing two movies, the indie “My Dead Friend Zoe,” which will premiere at SXSW in March, and the Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary, “King Pleasure.”

Kelce has said he wants to be as famous as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and has assembled a powerful team to get him there. He signed with CAA in May 2023, where his agent for non-scripted TV is Nikki Goldfarb, who works with production companies like Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.

His agent for motion picture and comedy is Rachel Rush, the cohead of Motion Picture Talent at CAA, who represents comic talents like Trevor Noah, James Corden, Sacha Baron Cohen and Leslie Jones.

And elsewhere on his team is power agent Lorrie Bartlett, who has a stellar client list that includes Regina King, Michael Keaton, Rachel Zegler and Lucy Liu. That’s not to mention his four football agents and his Hollywood publicist Jack Ketsoyan.

TheWrap reached out to the CAA agents for comment but they did not respond.

The three-time Super Bowl winner has already starred in an E! reality dating show, hosted “Saturday Night Live,” appeared in seven commercials for companies like Pfizer and launched a clothing line. He also hosts the popular “New Heights” podcast on Spotify with his brother, Jason.

Oh, and he’s dating probably the most famous woman on the planet.

“We positioned Travis to be world famous, we didn’t know how it would happen, or when it would happen, or what would help push that further along,” Kelce’s business partner Andre Eanes told the New York Times of his ambitions outside the sport. “But it’s always been the thought in the back of our minds.”

Kelce’s brand potential

Ryan Schinman, CEO OF Mayflower Entertainment, a marketing consultancy that connects brands with entertainment partners, told TheWrap that “the Kelce effect” means he’s got the world at his feet.

“Going into this season pre-Taylor, Travis was already one of the most marketable players because of his athletic prowess as well as his personality,” Schinman said. “That’s only heightened because of his global exposure being with Taylor, so now he is probably the most famous person in the NFL, and one of the most famous athletes in the world.”

The exec added, “All eyes are on him not just as a football player, but as a celebrity. He’s one of the biggest celebrities in the world.” Kelce joins an elite list of NFL players who have made an impact outside of the game including Tom Brady and Michael Strahan, who hosts “Good Morning America”.

Michael Heller, CEO and founder of Talent Resources, which connects brands with influencers and who cast Ben Affleck and J.Lo in their Dunkin’ Donuts campaign and Super Bowl commercial, praised Kelce’s team.

“He’s with an excellent team that are big thinkers and they are thinking about his marketability,” Heller said. “As an athlete, with his brother and his mom, I think he is what brands are looking for, which is family.”

While Hollywood is knocking, Schinman also said not to count out a future in sports broadcasting.

“Because of his personality and his popularity, Travis has a huge opportunity to do TV and film … and when his career is over, and he feels like getting into sports broadcasting, I think he’d be up at the top of everybody’s list.”

He could land a deal comparable to Tom Brady’s 10-year $375 million deal with Fox Sports. Plus, he has a huge opportunity to build his own brand and create products along with his brother, a point Heller echoed.

“They’ve done an amazing job with their podcast. Sports fans are all looking for their new Tom Brady, and here he is,” he said. “He’s all American, good upbringing, good morals,” Heller added.

The Taylor factor and rough edges

But Kelce has to be careful not to tarnish his image. The star tight end already got blowback for shoving and screaming at head coach Andy Reid at the Super Bowl on Sunday. And that wasn’t the only public misfire.

On Wednesday, the athlete appeared drunk at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade and continued celebrating after the shooting, where a mother of two was killed and 22 attendees were injured, about half of whom were under the age of 16. His partying was met with public outrage.

“He’s very rough around the edges, but at the end of the day he‘s passionate,” Schinman said.

Kelce has since donated $100,000 to two sisters injured in the shooting. He also matched Swift’s $100,000 donation to victims of last Wednesday’s mass shooting through a GoFundMe page via his charity, the Eighty-Seven & Running Foundation.

Being at the center of the most buzzed-about romance in years could also be a double-edged sword. A campaign with Kelce and Swift, 34, would be “epic, but I don’t think she would ever allow it.” Schinman said. After all, the pop superstar, who is currently on the Australian leg of her Eras tour, has her own top team who fiercely protect her image.

Managing his public image while he’s dating Swift is — to cite one of the Grammy winner’s song titles — delicate. While the couple currently seem madly in love, that doesn’t always mean happily ever after.

“I do worry about one thing, the break-up. God forbid they break up,” Schinman said. “How they break up could be devastating to his branding career. Because she is the most loved superstar and has the most rabid fans in the world, when she feels wronged, the whole world feels wronged.

“If it doesn’t work out Travis had better strategically plan what his messaging is,” the exec added. Swift famously writes lyrics about her failed relationships in her hit songs. And her ‘Swifties’ wield huge power on social media.

What’s up, Hollywood?

As it stands, Kelce is viewing movie scripts and game shows are under consideration, according to knowledgeable insiders. His commercial deals have been targeted away from the NFL to build Kelce into “a stand-alone pitchman,” according to the Times.

Next up is indie feature “My Dead Friend Zoe” from writer-director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, which follows a female Afghanistan veteran who comes head-to-head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family’s ancestral lake house. The low-budget indie cost less than $10 million to produce.

The Basquiat documentary comes next with Kelce financing in collaboration with Radian Media Studios, run by Ray Maiello and Mike Field. They are also working on a third, still untitled, documentary.

But for now, a final concern for Kelce, who is looking for offseason projects before training resumes in July, is overexposure. He’s everywhere.

“That’s going to be difficult, given the attention on Travis and Taylor’s romance,” Heller said.

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