Super Bowl rivals to superstardom… how Travis and Jason Kelce took over 2023: From a whirlwind Taylor Swift romance and Sexiest Man Alive nomination – to scaling New Heights with their chart-topping podcast
No other brother pair in the world has benefited from 2023 as much as the Kelces.
Travis, 34, was known to NFL fans long before his romance with Taylor Swift began in September, having won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs in the past five years, including this year's Big Game in February .
On the other hand, 36-year-old Jason has always proven to be the less popular of the duo, despite lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy just a year before his little brother did for the first time, in 2019.
Positioning is largely to blame, as Travis plays tight end β one of the most important positions on offense β while his older brother has been a veteran center for the Eagles for 13 seasons. Nevertheless, both have received praise for their playing style over the past twelve months, with Jason considered an MVP candidate this season, while Travis became the fastest tight end, and fifth in NFL history, to reach 10,000 career receiving yards achieved.
Outside of football, the Kelces have been the center of popular culture in America, with Travis appearing on SNL several times this year, while Jason released another Christmas album that crashed the Billboard charts. Both brothers also co-host the New Heights podcast, which grew exponentially this year, as the name suggests.
Here, DailyMail.com recaps an incredible year for the Kelce brothers – and looks at what happened that made them superstars.
Travis (L) and Jason (R) Kelce were the funniest and most successful football duo in 2023
The brothers have been the talk of mainstream American culture since February (seen with mother Donna)
Jason and Travis received praise for their performances on and off the field this year
Played against each other in Super Bowl LVII
Let's start with the big sporting event that fueled Jason and Travis' rise ten months ago: Super Bowl LVII.
The Kelce Bros. made NFL history in February when they took on the Eagles and Chiefs in The Game of Games, which some fans dubbed the βKelce Bowl.β
The occasion marked the first time two brothers had ever played against each other on opposing teams in the 57 years since the Super Bowl began.
βIt's wild and kind of surreal,β Travis said before the game. βThe fact that it all lines up is mind-boggling… It's a special moment. It's something we'll remember for the rest of our lives.β
To ensure there was no animosity before and after the game, Jason and Travis' mother, Donna, stood in the stands at State Farm Stadium – home of the Cardinals – in Glendale, Arizona, and stole them the show with her split jacket visible from both her sons' teams, just like a proud 'mom' would.
Regardless, it's no secret that Travis and the Chiefs came out on top against Jason's Eagles in a closely contested affair (38-35), although both men hugged and hung out after the game, just as close brothers would doing.
The siblings are the first two brothers to ever play against each other in a Super Bowl
Co-host of the #1 sports podcast in the world on Spotify
In a year full of accolades for his on-field achievements, Travis managed to share one with his “big brother” Jason for perhaps their greatest contribution off the field: their podcast “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.”
The NFL's funniest family duo team up weekly to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds, including stories about growing up together, other players and their respective families. From time to time, the podcast also features special guests, such as famous Eagles fans Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson.
In addition to being crowned Spotify's No. 1 sports podcast worldwide, the Kelces are also the No. 3 most-followed overall show on Apple Podcasts, behind “Huberman Lab” and “SmartLess.”
The streaming fame comes alongside Travis Kelce's girlfriend Taylor Swift being named Spotify's most listened to artist of the year. Although the pop star has yet to appear on the Kelce brothers' podcast, she has been mentioned on the show before.
According to Spotify, 'New Heights' was also the best sports podcast in America and the best American football podcast in the US.
Jason & Travis also saw their show, 'New Heights', jump to the top of Spotify's sports podcast
Dating a pop icon and expanding your family
Perhaps (okay, definitely!) the biggest reason for Travis' rise to the top of mainstream culture is his three-month-old relationship with Taylor Swift.
In September, he publicly asked her to go on a date with him before the start of the 2023 NFL season after she rejected him backstage at one of her concerts in Kansas City over the summer. The rest has since been public knowledge… but it looks like both parties are getting serious at 34, with Travis considering proposing to Taylor next year.
Additionally, Travis and Taylor's highly publicized relationship has had a significant impact on the NFL's viewership (and technically still does); The Chiefs-Bears game, in which Swift attended, drew the most TV viewers of the weekend, while sales of Kelce's jersey and Chiefs home game tickets have soared.
The NFL and NBC have also used the couple's romance for social media content to promote upcoming games. A Chiefs-Jets game Swift attended averaged 27 million viewers, making it the most-watched Sunday night TV show since Super Bowl LVII β a full-circle moment.
Jason, the less popular of the two brothers, expanded his family to five after he and wife Kylie welcomed their third daughter, Bennett Llewellyn Kelce, in February.
Kylie was 38 weeks pregnant with the couple's third child at the time of Super Bowl LVII.
Travis' fame isn't just about football, it's also about Taylor Swift (pictured in December)
Meanwhile, Jason and his wife Kylie grew their tribe to three daughters before the Super Bowl
Jason is named one of People's Sexiest Man Alive candidates, while Travis expands into fashion
You heard that right, folks… Jason Kelce, who sports a full beard and frizzy short hair, was a surprise finalist for People magazine's Ultimate Annual Men's Award, alongside actors Patrick Dempsey, Pedro Pascal and Thimothee Chalamet, and pop stars like Usher, Jamie Foxx and Lenny Kravitz.
Surprised by the nomination itself, the Eagles center hilariously promised a period of 'self-reflection' after missing out on the title, while Dempsey scooped the award.
As an analyst, he was once introduced as the “sexiest man in the NFL” on Amazon's Prime “Thursday Night Football” broadcast of the Bears-Panthers game in October – and producers even created a cover with his face on it – which led to that Kelce dropped some jokes.
“Listen, I don't know how this all happened, but it's honestly just another day,” Kelce said, adding that his wife “keeps telling me I'm the sexiest man in the world, so I was wondering why it took so long for this nomination to happen.β
Wise words there, Jason. Meanwhile, Travis launched his own clothing line, called True Kolors, before facing his older brother in a rematch of this year's Super Bowl game in November. He has collaborated with the Chiefs in the past to design apparel.
Jason was named one of the finalists of People's 'Sexiest Man Alive', but lost to Patrick Dempsey
The race to Super Bowl LVIII, with Jason tipped as NFL MVP
The outcome every NFL fan is waiting for… Who will make it to this year's Super Sunday in Las Vegas on February 11, 2024?
Well, both the Chiefs and Eagles once again have a good chance to clash at Allegiant Stadium as they are both among the top five teams in the AFC and NFC respectively despite their sudden dip in form.
On Sunday, the AFC West-leading Chiefs (9-5) ended their two-game skid against the New England Patriots to excite Swift and her fans in the crowd at Gillette Stadium, but they are still staring down the Miami Dolphins (10 -4) and Baltimore (11-3) in the conference playoff picture with three regular season games remaining.
On the other hand, the slumping Eagles slid from 10-1 and the top of the NFC to 10-4 and fighting for a division title amid a three-game losing streak. A streak in which they did not score more than 19 points. A streak that forced coach Nick Sirianni to change the defensive coaching staff. A streak that nearly knocked the Eagles out of the way to clinch the NFC's No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff bye.
Both Jason and Travis are looking to reach Super Bowl LVIII in what would be back-to-back appearances
The Eagles have a three-game stretch, including two games against the New York Giants (5-9) and one against the Arizona Cardinals (3-11). Win them all and the team will be crowned NFC East champions for the second year in a row. If you lose, people's jobs could be at risk…
Quarterback Jalen Hurts may be one of the many favorites to be crowned the league's Most Valuable Player for this season, along with Brock Purdy and Lamar Jackson, but NFL analyst Jason Whitlock believes the award should go to Jason to go.
One of the reasons Kelce wins the award is his key role in the tush push: the Eagles' unstoppable play that they use on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 situations to gain yardage and possibly score touchdowns.