New Heights: How the Kelce Brothers Built the $100M Wondery Deal
New Heights is the Kelce brothers' weekly football podcast, and in August 2024 Amazon's Wondery signed it to a three-year deal reported at more than $100 million. The deal gave Wondery exclusive ad-sales and distribution rights while the show stayed available on every podcast platform and YouTube. Bloomberg reported that the figure came from a person familiar with the arrangement, not from the parties.
What is the New Heights podcast?
New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce is a weekly football and culture podcast that Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and his brother Jason Kelce, then of the Philadelphia Eagles, launched in 2022 with Wave Sports + Entertainment. Wondery CEO Jen Sargent told Variety the company had followed the show since it launched at the start of the 2022-23 NFL season.
The show grew as Travis Kelce began dating Taylor Swift at the start of the 2023 NFL season, according to Fox Business. Bloomberg reported that it was the 14th most popular podcast in the United States in the quarter before the deal, according to Edison Research.
New Heights won the fan-voted Podcast of the Year award at the iHeartPodcast Awards in March 2024, according to Podcast News Daily. Jason Kelce retired from the Eagles the same month, according to Fortune.
What did the Wondery deal include?
The Wondery deal gave Amazon's podcast studio exclusive ad-sales and distribution rights to New Heights for three years, including the show's back catalog, according to Variety and Bloomberg.
Wondery also received rights to develop, manufacture, license and distribute merchandise based on the show, and ad-free listening went to Wondery+ subscribers. Wave Sports + Entertainment kept producing the show, and New Heights stayed available on all podcast services and YouTube, according to Variety.
The deal was announced in late August 2024, and season three began on August 28, according to Podcast News Daily.
How does the deal compare with other podcast deals?
The reported New Heights figure is smaller than two other podcast deals of the period: Alex Cooper's $125 million SiriusXM agreement for Call Her Daddy and Joe Rogan's Spotify renewal in February 2024, estimated at $250 million, according to Straight Arrow News.
The same report notes that SiriusXM bought Conan O'Brien's Team Coco network for $150 million in 2022. None of these figures were published by the parties, so treat each as a reported estimate.
What makes New Heights hard to copy?
New Heights is hard to copy because its two hosts are brothers with a shared football career, and the format depends on that relationship. This is EPR's analysis, not a finding from the sources above.
Travis Kelce's status as an active Chiefs player gives the show weekly access to the season, and Jason Kelce's retirement in March 2024 added a former player's view of the game. The Swift relationship widened the audience beyond football listeners, according to Fox Business.
What risks does the New Heights property carry?
The New Heights property carries two risks: it depends on both hosts continuing to record, and the Wondery deal has a three-year term that began in August 2024. A change in either host's availability would change what the show can offer sponsors.
The reported figure also cannot be checked, because neither Wondery nor the Kelces published it.
What should athletes and brands take from the Wondery deal?
The Wondery deal split the show's rights: Wave Sports + Entertainment kept production, while Wondery took ad sales, distribution and merchandise. Athletes weighing a media business can model that split, and EPR's Pat McAfee media business analysis covers the solo-host version.
Athletes planning a podcast should settle who owns production, ad sales and merchandise before negotiating price. Brands buying host-read ads should ask which party sells the inventory and whether the show is available outside the exclusive distributor, as New Heights is on YouTube.
New Heights is a weekly football and culture podcast hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce, launched in 2022 with Wave Sports + Entertainment and distributed by Amazon's Wondery since August 2024.
How much did the Wondery New Heights deal cost?
The deal was reported at more than $100 million over three years, according to Bloomberg and Variety, citing a person familiar with the arrangement. The parties did not publish the figure.
Is New Heights still on YouTube and other podcast apps?
Yes. Variety reported that New Heights stays available on all podcast services and on YouTube, while Wondery holds exclusive ad-sales and distribution rights.
Who produces New Heights?
Wave Sports + Entertainment launched the show and continues to provide production services under the Wondery deal, according to Variety. Updated October 10, 2026. Facts are drawn from Bloomberg, Variety, Fortune, Fox Business, Podcast News Daily and Straight Arrow News, as named in each section.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
