Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs prior to an NFL football game on Sept. 5, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. Photo:

Kevin Sabitus/Getty

Travis Kelce is one of the NFL’s most recognizable players — but his success extends far beyond the game.

The tight end started his professional football career in 2013 with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he has remained since. A 10-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion, he is now up for another title in the 2025 Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.

As of September 2024, Kelce has an estimated net worth of $52 million, per Forbes. He also earned a spot on the outlet’s list of the top 10 highest-paid NFL players in 2024.

Kelce was already an established, successful football player when he began dating billionaire pop star Taylor Swift in 2023. However, his fame reached new heights after they got together, which led to a spike in commercial sales, helping him earn $2.4 million from jersey sales, video games and other group licensing income between February 2023 and 2024, per Forbes.

Although Kelce has become one of the wealthiest players on and off the field, he has been open up about how he learned to be responsible with his money after some financially “terrible decisions” early on in his career.

“Most of it was just being caught up in actually having a good amount of money for the first time and the fact that I’ve always wanted to just live recklessly with being able to appreciate the hard work that I put in with the money that I have,” he said during a February 2023 appearance on Stash Wealth.

He continued, “I’ve always wanted to live that ‘baller life style,’ and I found out that only lasts like a year at the most … it was definitely a learning experience.”

From his football career to his business ventures, here’s everything to know about how Travis Kelce amassed his net worth.

Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs after the Chiefs defeated the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 10, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. Jason Hanna/Getty

According to Forbes, Kelce has an estimated net worth of $52 million as of September 2024, with football attributed as his main source of wealth. This was a $12 million jump from when the outlet previously reported his net worth to be $40 million in October 2023.

His yearly salary and winnings are projected at $17 million, while endorsements bring in an additional $35 million, according to the outlet.

The tight end also earned the no. 7 spot on Forbes‘ list of the top 10 highest-paid NFL players in 2024.

Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. Ryan Kang/Getty

After playing college football at the University of Cincinnati, Kelce’s professional football career began in 2013 when he signed his first of several contracts with the Kansas City Chiefs. According to CNBC, Kelce’s rookie contract was worth $3.12 million and included a $703,304 signing bonus.

In 2016, Kelce signed a five-year deal for $46 million, with $20 million guaranteed, per ESPN. According to the outlet, in 2020 — with two years remaining on that contract — he signed a four-year extension for $57.25 million, with $28 million in guarantees.

Most recently, Kelce signed a two-year deal in April 2024 for $34.25 million, with $17 million guaranteed for the upcoming season, per ESPN.

Throughout the years, Kelce has won three Super Bowls — 2020, 2023 and 2024 — and earned a large paycheck from each game. According to the NFL collective bargaining agreement, players from the winning team earned $130,000 in 2020, $164,000 in 2023 and $171,000 in 2024.

Per the agreement, if the Chiefs win the 2025 Super Bowl, players will take home $178,000. If they lose, they will earn $103,000.

Travis and Jason Kelce during a December 2024 episode of their ‘New Heights’ podcast. New Heights/YouTube

One of Kelce’s largest revenue drivers is New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, the podcast he co-hosts with his brother, Jason Kelce. In August 2024, the siblings signed a $100 million, three-year deal with Amazon’s Wondery.

In addition to his gig as a podcast host, Kelce has also made several appearances on television series over the years — and even had a program of his own.

In 2016, Kelce was the star of the E! reality dating show Catching Kelce — which he revealed on The Pivot Podcast in February 2023 that he was motivated to join for financial reasons.

Travis admitted that after going pro, he quickly spent his first few paychecks “like it was nothing,” to the extent that he even fell behind on rent — which made the Catching Kelce salary offer one he couldn’t turn down.

“So I heard about the situation where I can make six figures in two weeks? I was like … ‘This is actually starting to sound a little better,’ ” he said.

Although the show aired for only one season, Kelce later went on to host Prime Video’s Are You Smart Than a Celebrity?, made a cameo in Happy Gilmore 2 and had a role in Ryan Murphy’s FX series Grotesquerie. However, it is unclear how much he earned from the opportunities.

Travis Kelce during Kelce Jam at Azura Amphitheater on April 28, 2023, in Bonner Springs, Kan. Kyle Rivas/Getty

Kelce has been expanding his brand off the field for years, securing a diverse range of endorsements and partnerships. In February 2024, Forbes reported that the athlete had earned an estimated $5 million in endorsements from companies including Bud Light, Nike, Pzifer and State Farm.

The outlet has also noted his various sponsorships with brands including Campbell Soup, Experian, General Mills and Subway. Additionally, Kelce has appeared in commercials for several major companies, including Pepsi and Lowe’s.

In June 2024, the Kelce brothers took their business ventures further by joining Garage Beer as investors. That November, CEO Andy Sauer told Forbes that they are “by far the largest investors.”

Kelce also founded Kelce Jam, a music festival that debuted in 2023 and returned for a second year in 2024. Most of the festival’s revenue came from sponsorships, per Forbes.

While his earnings from the event were not disclosed, Forbes reported that brand partnerships for the second Kelce Jam increased five times, and the festival was projected to generate three times the revenue of its first year.

Travis Kelce attends the 2022 ESPYs at Dolby Theatre on July 20, 2022, in Hollywood, Calif. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

In 2015, Kelce launched his official charity foundation, 87 & Running, which has led a number of initiatives and donated to various causes since.

In January 2024, the foundation donated enough money to the Rebuilding Together Kansas City organization to help a local resident rebuild her home. A few weeks later, Kelce worked with after school program Operation Breakthrough — which his foundation has collaborated with several times over the years — to give out 25,000 meals to Kansas City students.

That February, Kelce made two separate $50,000 donations from the foundation to the GoFundMe page for the family of two girls who were injured during the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade.

Travis Kelce at the Super Bowl Championship Ring Ceremony on June 15, 2023, at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Kelce has learned to manage his money over time, but he has been open about the financial lessons he had to navigate early in his career. During his appearance on Stash Wealth, Kelce described having to learn over time what his “lifestyle spending limits were.”

“It was a lot of trial and error in trying to figure out what made me happy, but at the end of the day, what is going to keep my family safe, keep my financial accumulation … and how to save it the best way, invest it the best way,” he said.

During a May 2023 episode of New Heights, Kelce shared that the first thing he bought with his NFL paycheck was a “pair of size 13 Nike Air Mag Marty McFlys, the coolest shoes that I’d ever seen in my life.”

Kelce also reflected on his early financial missteps, saying, “The reason why I lost all my money in my first year, I might have went to Vegas or Florida on one of those off days and enjoyed myself. The dumbest thing I ever bought with my rookie money: bottles in the club.”

Though Kelce is one of the highest-paid NFL players, he has been candid about how his salary compares to other players in the league — but has made it clear his loyalty lies with the Chiefs.

“My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am,” he told Vanity Fair in June 2023. “I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in.”