Cashing Kelce: The Business of Being Travis

July 07, 2025

Welcome to Gridiron Wallet — where NFL players don’t just chase rings, they chase bags. From million-dollar grills to side hustles that slap, we’re decoding how football’s finest make it, spend it, and sometimes… fumble it. 🏈🔥

The latest edition of our newsletter covers Travis Kelce:

  • From New Heights to Loftier Deals: Travis Kelce Means Business

  • Man on a Mission: Kelce’s Health and Wellness Ventures

  • Kelce’s Business Mantra: Versatility

✍️Paper Play

From New Heights to Loftier Deals: Travis Kelce Means Business

The debate about whether Travis Kelce is the greatest tight end in NFL history has been on for a few years now, and it will continue. He still trails Tony Gonzalez in the categories that count — well, nearly all of them. 

One area where Kelce stands supreme is in career earnings: The $93,943,975 he has made in the NFL already represents the most ever for a tight end. And he’ll increase that lead in 2025, as his $17 million salary will bump that up to $111,193,975.

Kelce has made more than enough money on the field to retire. And he might be making even more money off the field, all the more since his relationship with billionaire pop icon Taylor Swift began in 2023. 

However, we can’t give Swift all the credit. Arguably, Kelce’s biggest off-field endeavor is his New Heights podcast, which he hosts alongside his brother Jason Kelce. They reportedly signed a three-year deal with Amazon recently for $100 million. That’s quarterback money right there.

Kelce has shown an eye for investing on a few occasions. Back in 2019, he was one of a handful of celebrities and athletes to invest in Cholula Hot Sauce, which was sold a year later for a whopping $800 million to McCormick Foods. However, not all his investments look great right now.

Kelce also joined teammate Patrick Mahomes and golfer Rory McIlroy to invest over $210 million in the Alpine F1 racing team in 2023. However, Alpine is in shambles right now. They are in the midst of their worst-ever season, sitting last in the 2025 F1 Constructors Championship with just 11 points after 11 races.

The big tight end has also been a prominent face in the media. He admitted that his first foray into TV, the reality dating show Catching Kelce, was kind of a necessity for him after he spent his first few NFL checks recklessly. Since then, he has guest-hosted SNL and is currently the host of the game show Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity? 

He has also made millions off endorsement deals with corporate conglomerates like Nike, Bud Light, Pfizer, and State Farm. Profluence marks his net worth at $70 million in 2025. Not too shabby, especially with all those off-field opportunities likely to continue paying out long after his football career. So, at 35, why keep playing? 

Kelce already has three Super Bowl rings and all the money he could ask for. So if he continues to play, it’s because he’s chasing Gonzalez, and to a lesser extent, Jason Witten and Antonio Gates. 

Among TEs, Kelce’s 1,004 receptions are third behind Witten (1,228) and Gonzalez (1,325). His 12,151 yards are third behind Witten (13,046) and Gonzalez (15,127). And his 77 TDs are fifth behind Jimmy Graham (89), Rob Gronkowski (92), Gonzalez (111), and Gates (116). A long way to go in a couple of those categories, to say the least.

💸Health Is Wealth

Man on a Mission: Kelce’s Health and Wellness Ventures

When it comes to the fittest and nutrition-obsessed NFL athletes, Travis Kelce isn’t the first name to pop into our minds. But the Chiefs’ superstar has had multiple honest attempts to build an empire around the wellness industry. 

For starters, back in 2019, he became an early investor in Hilo Nutrition, a line of gummy workout supplements aimed at simplifying performance nutrition. Kelce, who became the brand’s Chief of Performance, helped shape the product itself, inspired by his habit of eating gummy bears for a mid-game boost.

The pitch was simple: Ditch powders and pills for easy-to-digest gummies that offered energy and recovery benefits. But despite early hype, Hilo fizzled out. After a 2021 rebranding and partnerships with Olympic athletes, the brand quietly disappeared. 

And since then, there have been no updates on the gummy bears. Kelce’s venture had flopped.

However, that failure did not deter the three-time Super Bowl winner from venturing into the wellness space again. In 2022, he found some success when he struck a deal with Hy-Vee, a Midwest grocery giant with $12 billion in annual sales. 

Their partnership ran through till 2025 and included limited-edition Travis Kelce-branded products, like Kelce’s Krunch cereal. Its proceeds supported his charity, 87 & Running. The cereal alone raised $18,500 for the foundation.

Talking about philanthropic ventures, through 87 & Running, Kelce has consistently backed community wellness projects since launching it in 2015. Its focus has primarily been on underprivileged youth. Through their resources and donations, Kelce’s foundation prioritizes education, STEM, sports, and now, mental wellness for the youth.

An example of this was seen last year when Kelce funded the Eighty-Seven & Running Endowment for Student-Athlete Mental Health and Wellness at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati. His donation secured dedicated mental health staff to support over 300 student-athletes annually — a rare, targeted investment in college sports.

So, from failed supplements to grocery tie-ins and serious philanthropy, Kelce’s wellness playbook has been a mix of personal passion and community focus. And the best part is that even when his business bets miss, his mission stays clear: Help others fuel up and stay strong.

💡 Gridiron Wallet Trivia

Did you know?
🌿 Travis Kelce made more money off the field in 2023 than from his NFL salary despite being a three-time Super Bowl champion.

Thanks to his endorsement, brand deals, podcast revenue, and his role on SNL, Kelce reportedly earned over $13 million off the field, compared to his $11.25 million NFL salary that year.

🏈✨Eggs In All Baskets

Kelce’s Business Mantra: Versatility

When Travis Kelce is done breaking tackles on the field, dropping podcasts on our feed, and making big business moves, he quietly dabbles in new commercial territories. 

Real estate is one. In 2023, Kelce dropped $6 million in cash on a 17,000 sq. ft. Kansas City mansion, complete with a pickleball court, mini golf course, and wine cellar.

While most would see this spend as a luxury purchase, it was in equal parts a necessity because his old home became too accessible after his Taylor Swift-fueled fame skyrocketed. 

He bought the mansion while still owning his former home, a 10,000 sq. ft. property bought for $995,000 in 2019, plus a $335,000 condo in Orlando.

Kelce also owns a stake in Club Car Wash, one of the fastest-growing express car wash chains in the U.S., with over 160 locations and plans for more.

Known for its community mission, the company notably raised $42,301 for Kelce’s 87 & Running Foundation during Super Bowl week as part of a broader strategy blending business with philanthropy.

Then there’s Tru Kolors, his vintage-inspired athleisure brand launched in 2019. Initially, niche, the clothing line, featuring hoodies, sweats, and tees, has exploded in popularity, thanks to Kelce’s on-field success and media spotlight. 

His recent collaboration with the Chiefs sold out fast, showing strong demand through direct-to-consumer drops.

But Kelce’s biggest unconventional bet yet has to be on Garage Beer, the Ohio-based light beer brand he and brother Jason now lead as the largest investors. 

Since they joined in 2024, Garage Beer has expanded from 12 to 30 states and is aiming for nationwide distribution by early 2026. Their involvement even led to co-ownership of the St. Joseph Goats indoor football team, a surprising but strategic move.

And in 2025, Kelce’s next business chapter opened with 1587 Prime, a high-end Kansas City steakhouse that he co-owns with his teammate Patrick Mahomes. 

Spanning 10,000 sq. ft., the restaurant aims to blend fine dining with subtle nods to their football legacies, as evidenced by the name referencing the duo’s jersey numbers.

Kelce’s investment portfolio is an exact replica of his versatility on the field.

📆 NFL Money Stat of 1962

In 1962, CBS paid just $4.65 million for the rights to televise the entire NFL season. The amount was equally split among all 14 NFL teams, each getting just over $332,000.

Today, Amazon alone pays over $1 billion per year just to stream Thursday Night Football.