The Kansas City Chiefs’ superstar tight end Travis Kelce and his older brother — former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce — host a weekly podcast called "New Heights." The title is an homage to the Cleveland Heights neighborhood in which they grew up.
One week removed from the NFL Draft, the Kelce brothers took the time to share their thoughts on it — and Travis spoke about his revised two-year contract with the Chiefs and his upcoming Amazon Prime game show “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity.”
"New Heights" with Jason & Travis Kelce | Jukes Original Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment | You can also listen to the show on Spotify.
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1. Travis gets the bag
“The Big Yeti” — whom you may know as Travis Kelce — is now the NFL’s highest-paid tight end. His two-year, $34.25 million deal replaces the final two years of his previous Kansas City contract — and barely edges out New York Giants tight end Darren Waller’s contract, which averaged $17 million per year.
In this week’s episode, Travis expressed his gratitude to the team’s general manager, president and head coach — and, of course, its chairman and CEO.
“I’m so thankful to Brett Veach, Mark Donovan, Coach Reid — Big Red, I love you, big guy — and obviously Clark Hunt,” he said. “The Hunt family has been absolutely wonderful not only to myself [but] this Kansas City community. They have just been so generous since I’ve been here — and making it feel like home... I’ve loved every single second of it.”
Trav and the Chiefs have agreed to a new contract and the Big Yeti could not be more thankful ❤️ @BWWings pic.twitter.com/MmNBF5Mfca— New Heights (@newheightshow) May 1, 2024
Travis never wants his contract negotiations to be a distraction to the team.
“I’m not a guy that sits out,” he declared proudly. “I’m not a guy that holds out. I’m a guy that loves coming into the building — and the Chiefs know that.”
He also said it meant a lot to him that the team was willing to reward him without negotiations becoming acrimonious.
2. Drafting the NFL’s fastest player
Travis approved of the Chiefs' first-round selection: Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
“When you turn on the film,” he noted, “on the field, his speed translates.”
As others have said, Kelce believes Worthy is a multifaceted receiver.
“He’s catching the ball, he’s fearless going over the middle, he’s a punt returner,” he observed. “You’ve got to have a little bit of fearlessness if you’re going to be that fast playing football. Getting hit at speeds like that is a little dangerous.”
3. Patrick Mahomes threw to Jared Wiley before the draft
Travis is among the Chiefs’ pass-catchers who make it a point to work out with their quarterback (and Mahomes’ personal coach Jeff Christiansen) during the offseason.
“I always get down to Texas this time of year,” he explained, “to try and throw with Pat and get things going again — get the engine fired up again.”
Except this year, Kelce wasn’t the only tight end on the practice field.
“Our newest draft pick was down there,” revealed Travis. “He was undrafted at this point when I met him — and I was running around with him — but [the team] ended up picking him in the fourth round: Jared Wiley out of TCU.”
It’s not unusual for Mahomes to work with a Chiefs player before the team drafts them. Last year, Mahomes worked out with the team’s eventual second-round pick: wide receiver Rashee Rice.
It only makes sense. The team might as well have the quarterback’s feedback on a potential draftee — and know whether the two of them have chemistry.
Travis called Wiley “a big dude” who was “down there having fun — and looking good.”
https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2024/5/2/24146971/travis-jason-kelces-new-heights-podcast-nfl-draft-travis-gets-paid?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger
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