In a remarkably candid New York Times feature published on Tuesday, Travis Kelce’s management team went on the record about how it has made him one of the most famous athletes in the world. Twin brothers Aaron and André Eanes have been managing Kelce since college and recounted an anecdote that makes clear Team Kelce’s plans for the future.
“Man, I don’t think I’ll ever be as famous as the Rock,” Mr. Kelce said.
His co-managers looked at each other. “We’re like, Yes, you can,” André Eanes said.
The NFL star has a long way to go to get to the Rock’s level — for example, Kelce has been nominated for only one Kids’ Choice Award (King of Swag at the 2019 Kids’ Choice Sports ceremony), and the Rock has won six times — but his team is positive it can get him there. Kelce, who has already starred in seven major commercials, apparently has a “budding acting itch” and his team has been reading scripts.
The article describes the way that the Eanes brothers have been working for years on a “carefully manicured business plan” that “blossomed at precisely the right moment.” It certainly helped that he’s now dating the most famous woman alive, but everyone insists that their romance was just a happy accident.
“The awareness of Travis is much larger and with an even broader audience,” CAA co-chairman Richard Lovett told the Times. “It’s accelerated that which was probably inevitable in terms of his level of awareness and appeal.”
Now it’s time to get down to the real business. What will be Kelce’s feature-film debut? Here’s my pitch: Freaky Friday for boys. Kelce plays a gym bro with no real plan for the future. Lightning strikes and he switches bodies with his dad, a therapist played by Paul Giamatti. High jinks ensue, lessons are learned, and Kelce gets his Kids’ Choice Award. If he’s really good, he might even be able to eke out an MTV Movie Award.