In a sport where superstardom carries with it ample financial rewards, a potential superstar is lurking in a market and on a team where it’s harder to stand out. But Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is getting there.
“I talk to my manager about that a lot and it is what it is,” Kelce said on Friday’s PFT Live regarding the reality that, if he played for in a larger city or on a team that had a bigger national following. “I mean it kind of played a part in terms of branching out into the TV world for me. It’s one of those things where you just kind of, you come out of the draft, you just want to be as marketable as possible I think. That’s one of the things about the NFL is that you have small-market teams, big-market teams. I feel like the bigger market teams do kind of have an advantage in terms of off-the-field money. I think when you have big-time businesses around that want to be part of the sports community and the athletic community it’s a huge advantage in the bigger markets. So without a doubt.”
Kelce, who follows in the Kansas City footsteps of future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, could be able to pull it off even without playing for the Cowboys or the Patriots or living in New York or L.A. If he generates 100 receiving yards on Sunday against the Titans, Kelce will become the first tight end in history with five straight triple-digit games.
It’s the kind of thing that could eventually propel him to, say, a place where Rob Gronkowski has landed -- the cover of the Madden game. Is Kelce concerned about flirting with the Madden Curse, which curse truths believe contributed to Gronkowski’s latest back injury?
“You know what, that’s a scary thing to even talk about,” Kelce said. “I hope Rob comes back stronger than ever and ready to take on the league but man that’s definitely been something that as a kid you always dreamed of being on the cover of a video game or something like that. [But] it seems the curse is alive and it’s a scary thing.”
Kelce is both alive and a scary thing for defenses to handle. He’s also an excellent guest. To hear everything he had to say, check out the video of his visit to PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio and NBCSN.
