In his 13th season as a pro, Travis Kelce has solidified himself as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, tight ends in NFL history.
With innumerable records and a history of production to his name, he has found success at both the individual and team level during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. In conjunction with his success on the field, he’s also built an incredible legacy off of it, as he continues to shine in other avenues as well.
However, throughout his tenure, he’s been on the receiving end of nearly universal praise for another reason. During his run as a 10-time Pro Bowler, where his production was in line with most WR1s, Kelce chose to leave a lot of money on the table to ensure that the Chiefs could build a better offense.
But a closer look at his career has revealed a potential loophole that may have given him a significant off-field windfall.
How Did Travis Kelce Exploit the NFL?
So, how did Kelce exploit an NFL loophole? As covered by the YouTube channel “Tyler Webb Shorts,” the extra money for Kelce came from bending the rules when it comes to endorsement deals.
As he explained, the league did not allow hard liquor brands to advertise during games until 2017. Moreover, it took another two years before such companies were allowed to use former players in the advertisements.
However, as the content creator went on to reveal, there still remains a hard line for one particular rule regarding these advertisements: active players cannot be featured in the commercials. Claiming it was hypocritical of the NFL since they have partnerships with beer brands, he went into detail about the rule.
“[There is] a league-wide rule that strictly prohibits any active player from endorsing companies that promote alcoholic beverages. Now, this rule is B.S. for a bunch of reasons, least of which is the fact that the NFL is cool taking money from alcohol brands, but won’t let its players do the same thing,” he explained.
That’s where Kelce has set himself apart. His incredible business acumen, which has already given him success off the field with his podcast and multiple investments, came through once again.
The Kelce brothers became investors in a company called Garage Beer, so finding a loophole in the active player rule became extremely important. With Jason Kelce retiring that very offseason, he was free to be in the advertisement.
But for the three-time Super Bowl champion, a little more creativity was necessary. “Instead of just signing a promotional deal in which Travis wouldn’t even be allowed to hold the beer on camera, the brothers decided to become the largest individual investors in the company,” Tyler explains.
Not to mention, the company has also gotten creative in its ads, showing a cardboard cutout of Travis (with the beer in his hand crossed out) and joking about how the Chiefs superstar bailed on the commercial shoot. So while the tight end with the most career postseason receiving yards in NFL history has never actually appeared in an ad or been seen holding the beer in his hands, it’s clear he’s associated with the brand.
Essentially, they found a way to use Travis’ likeness and take advantage of his massive popularity without him appearing in the commercials. The company raked in somewhere between $60 and $70 million in profit last year, while being valued at $200 million.
Yes, he’s technically not the man whose face is front and center. But Kelce managed to find a creative way to profit off of a beer partnership anyway, adding millions to his bank account in the process.
