Travis Kelce’s comanagers André and Aaron Eanes always knew that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was destined to be a star.
“We positioned Travis to be world famous,” André told The New York Times in a profile published on Tuesday, January 2. “We didn’t know how it would happen, or when it would happen, or what would help push that further along. But it’s always been the thought in the back of our minds.”
The twin brothers met Kelce, 34, through the NFL star’s college roommate who knew André since childhood. After the siblings teamed up to create A&A Management, Kelce became their second client.
“People say to me, ‘Man, it’s been a crazy year,’” Aaron told NYT. “When I say, ‘Actually, it’s not that crazy,’ people look at me funny. It’s because it’s easy when you have a plan. We’re executing that plan.”
Aaron’s initial plan was to become a sports agent, but not in the traditional sense.
“Agents are contract advisers,” he explained. “I thought instead about a music model and building a business where there’s coordination with all their external providers.”
Because Kelce was “always the life of the party,” something like this would work.
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The plan, initially, did not include a dating show, but the brothers changed their minds when they thought about how the show could open other doors for Kelce. In the end, E!’s 2016 series Catching Kelce, which ran for eight episodes, became a somewhat success. While Kelce didn’t find true love — he briefly dated winner Maya Benberry — he did become more of a well-known name.
With his star beginning to rise, the next goal for André and Aaron was to get Kelce on Saturday Night Live.
In March 2023, weeks after Kelce’s Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles (his brother, Jason Kelce’s team) in the Super Bowl, the SNL dream came to life. Travis hosted the show with Kelsea Ballerini as the musical act.
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Travis’ inner circle has grown to include more than just the two brothers. He now has “a creative strategist, a community outreach coordinator, a Los Angeles-based publicist, a personal chef and a trainer,” per the NYT article. Not to mention, four sports agents.
The plan is still a go with this expanded team. However, a few more projects are in the works. Mentions of “film scripts,” “game shows” and “a few less commercials” have been thrown around.
While the newspaper made it clear that Travis’ high-profile relationship with Taylor Swift was never part of any pre-planned success story, it has allowed the sports star to find a much larger following.
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Travis attended Swift’s Eras Tour in July 2023, revealing on his “New Heights” podcast that same month that he was unable to give the singer, 34, his number after the show. Months later, the two took things public when Swift attended a Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium in September.
“I’ve never been a man of words,” Travis said of his relationship during a WSJ. Magazine interview in November 2023. “Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f—ing mind-blowing. I’m learning every day.”
Swift has echoed his sweet sentiments.
“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she said in a TIME Magazine interview from last month, noting that they had started quietly “hanging out right after that.”
“When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” Swift added. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”