It’s always interesting to see the players that tackle the early days of NFL Radio Row at Super Bowl. They are usually the gritty ones, the ones looking to push a brand or a platform who may not be the biggest names right away, but they realize the value that the annual pre-Super Bowl extravaganza can bring, and how that can morph into opportunities that can be taken advantage of as careers expand. They are called the “Tuesday guys” or the “Wednesday guys” by those who have been in and around the makings of Radio Row for years. Sometimes they flourish into bigger opportunities, sometimes they take the spotlight and fade into whatever is next.
The idea of a “Wednesday guy” came up again this week when the NFL and Taylor Swift collided at Arrowhead Stadium. The reason? Travis Kelce’s involvement. For those who don’t know, this “sudden exposure” was not something overnight, it was a case of a brand savvy athlete continuing to balance and expand his window of opportunity, albeit this time in what seems like a great mix of relationships and buzz.
As Antony Crupi pointed out in Sportico, this exposure is the attest in a series of great opportunities team KELCE has forged since he showed up as the Chiefs were still up and comers in 2016. He and his large media team descended on radio Row doing everything and anything for a series on E! as well as his own growing social platforms. Capture the content, engage with fans and media, and if your career explodes in Gronk-like fashion, Kansas City works just fine.
As Crupi pointed out, the short-lived reality show didn’t diminish the star power of Team Kelce, it just got it started, and it was well positioned should even larger lightning in a bottle struck…Super Bowl champion, brand endorsements, top ranked podcast etc. etc. The steak matched the sizzle because the on-field performance delivered.
Since Kelce’s bid to become a reality star fizzled, the two-time Super Bowl champ has transformed himself into a media phenomenon. The tight end mans the mic on the top-ranked sports podcast on Spotify (New Heights, a joint effort with his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce) and is currently featured in national ad campaigns for Lowe’s, State Farm, DirecTV, Pfizer and Campbell’s Soup.
Now mixing and balancing the on and off field ins season is not easy, but it seems like the convertible driving, Swift dating, hipster clothes wearing, podcast and impression generating tight end seems to be riding it well, and there are no indications the balance will shift as long as he stays healthy and engaged and oh yeah, The Chiefs keep winning. Now maybe the cynical can say that it was a well-designed plant to drop Swift into the KC game against Chicago (second biggest media market) then to New York against the Jets and then into her upcoming theatrical release, but the powers outside have a lot to do with that as well. What is probable is Team Kelce put themselves in a position to be successful should lightning strike on and off the field long ago.
Sport, like sports business, is all about timing, and Kelce is scoring well beyond what a tight end usually does.
