How the Kelce Brothers Turned New Heights Into a $100M+ Podcast Deal
On 27 August 2024, Jason and Travis Kelce announced a three-year partnership with Amazon-owned podcast company Wondery for their hit show, New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce.
The deal was reportedly worth more than $100 million, although Amazon and Wondery did not publicly disclose the financial terms. But the size of the cheque only tells part of the story.
Under the agreement, Wondery secured global distribution and exclusive advertising sales rights across the podcast’s audio and video, alongside rights covering its back catalogue, international adaptations, merchandise and other extensions of the New Heights brand.
In other words, this wasn’t simply a deal for a weekly sports podcast.
What is the Kelce brothers’ $100M Wondery deal?
The three-year agreement took effect on 28 August 2024, ahead of the third season of New Heights and the start of the NFL season.
Wondery gained rights to monetise and distribute both audio and video episodes globally, as well as the show’s existing catalogue. It also secured rights to create international audio adaptations and develop, manufacture, license and distribute New Heights merchandise and new consumer products.
Crucially, New Heights did not become a Wondery-exclusive podcast.
The show remained available on YouTube and other major podcast platforms. Wondery+ subscribers also received early, ad-free access.
That distinction matters: Wondery was paying for the ability to monetise and expand a large audience, rather than simply putting that audience behind its own walls.
How did New Heights become worth more than $100 million?
The speed of the show’s growth makes the deal particularly notable.
Jason and Travis launched New Heights in September 2022, initially building the show around their lives as NFL players, football analysis and the relationship between two brothers playing at the highest level of the sport.
By August 2024 — less than two years later — they had reportedly secured a nine-figure podcast deal.
The show had also moved well beyond conventional sports commentary.
Celebrity interviews, pop-culture conversations and the brothers’ personalities helped New Heights reach audiences outside the NFL. Wondery described the show as a “cultural phenomenon,” reflecting its crossover beyond sports media.
It was also named Podcast of the Year at the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards.
Wondery wasn’t only buying a podcast
Perhaps the most interesting part of the agreement is what Wondery intended to do with the brand.
Its strategy for New Heights extended across audio, video, live experiences, merchandise and more.
That strategy has continued to evolve.
In September 2025, New Heights expanded to Prime Video in the US, adding another major distribution channel while the podcast continued to exist elsewhere.
That expansion demonstrates why the rights package matters.
A successful podcast can generate advertising revenue. But a successful media franchise can also generate video audiences, merchandise, live events, licensing opportunities and consumer products.
The audience becomes monetisable in multiple places.
Why the Kelce brothers’ Wondery deal matters
The Kelces are part of a wider shift in podcast economics.
Platforms are increasingly competing not only for popular shows, but for creator-led intellectual property that can move between formats and revenue streams.
For Wondery, New Heights offered an established audience, two recognisable personalities and a brand capable of stretching beyond sports podcasting.
For the Kelces, the deal provided Wondery’s advertising, distribution and commercial infrastructure without removing the show from the wider platforms where their audience had already been built.
The agreement remains within its reported three-year term in 2026, and New Heights continues to operate as one of Wondery’s major creator-led properties.
But perhaps the most interesting number in this story isn’t the reported $100 million.
It’s two years.
That’s roughly how long it took New Heights to go from a newly launched sports podcast to the centre of one of podcasting’s biggest reported deals.
SESSIONS TAKE: The podcast was the start. The brand was the asset.
