Stephen A. Smith commended Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce for securing the bag. On a recent episode of “First Take,” the ESPN personality applauded the brothers after they inked a reported $100 million deal with Amazon to produce their popular “New Heights” podcast.
Thanks to the lucrative agreement, Travis and Jason’s podcast immediately becomes one of the highest-earning in the industry, joining the likes of Joe Rogan’s “JRE” and Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy,” which both reign supreme on Spotify.
Addressing the massive deal, Smith first turned his attention to Jason, who is set to become an ESPN colleague of the 56-year-old after announcing his blockbuster move to The Worldwide Leader in Sports. Back in April, the longtime Philadelphia Eagle revealed that he’d be appearing regularly on the program “Monday Night Countdown.”
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“Let me give love to our new colleague Jason Kelce,” he began. “Wishing him nothing but the best on Monday Night Countdown. Not only [him but also] my brother from another mother, the one and only Travis Kelce.
“Go ahead and get y’all bag with the New Heights [deal]. Major, major congratulations to them. Nothing but the best to y’all moving forward.”
Wondery, a podcast publisher owned by Amazon, secured the exclusive ad-sales and distribution rights for “New Heights,” which boasts 6.83 million followers across YouTube and TikTok. In a joint statement shared with Variety, Travis and Jason wrote: “We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Wondery for the next phase of New Heights.
“We love this show, and the fanbase that has grown with us over the last two seasons. Wondery understands the shared vision and will offer a wealth of experience and resources to take us to ‘New Heights’. We are going to create some groundbreaking moments together through this partnership. We are thrilled to start Season 3.”
Following 13 decorated seasons in the NFL, Jason has kept busy post-retirement, reportedly inking a a three-year contract that will pay him $1.8 million annually to appear on ESPN’s Monday night football program, per the U.S. Sun. “Turns out, it was a short retirement! I’m excited to join ESPN, and particularly the Monday Night Countdown team,” the 36-year-old said in a statement.
“ESPN was a consistent presence in our household growing up and the network helped shape who I am and my love of all sports. To now appear on that same screen is a full circle moment. And, I mean it’s freaking Monday Night Football! and I’m ready for some football.”
As for Travis, he will look to secure back-to-back championship rings with the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII back in February.