While dating Taylor Swift certainly raised Travis Kelce‘s profile to new heights, his longtime managers had world fame plans for the Kansas City Chiefs star well before his romance with pop’s biggest superstar.
“We positioned Travis to be world famous,” André Eanes told The New York Times in a Wednesday, January 3, profile. He continued, “We didn’t know how it would happen, or when it would happen, or what would help push that further along. But it’s always been the thought in the back of our minds.”
Travis, 34, has been working with twin brothers André and Aaron Eanes since his days playing football at the University of Cincinnati. When the men launched their company A&A Management while still in college, Travis became their second client.
Before getting together with Taylor, André and Aaron had already gone about launching Travis’ profile as beyond that of an elite athlete. In 2023, the Ohio native won his second Super Bowl ring in February, went on to host Saturday Night Live in March and starred in seven high-profile national commercials. The brothers also helped Travis’ sportswear brand, Tru Colors, spark a capsule collection deal with the Chiefs for vintage and other merchandise.
“People say to me, ‘Man, it’s been a crazy year,’” Aaron explained, adding, “When I say, ‘Actually, it’s not that crazy,’ people look at me funny. It’s because it’s easy when you have a plan. We’re executing that plan.”
After Travis and Taylor’s relationship became public when she attended a Chiefs game on September 24, 2023, the future Hall of Famer’s profile skyrocketed to far beyond football fans. Soon her army of Swifties were buying up Travis’ No. 87 jerseys, turning in to watch Chiefs games and causing the pair to get cute couple names such as “Tayvis” and “Traylor.”
As a result, the Eanes brothers became aware of how to handle “oversaturation” and the chance that fans “grow numb at the sight of” Travis. Thus, their strategy heading into 2024 “revolves around one word: curation. Fewer deals. Quality over quantity. Authenticity first,” the brothers told the publication.
With the playoffs looming and Kansas City’s chances at a back-to-back Super Bowl win looking remote, fans likely won’t be getting to see Taylor cheer on Travis every Sunday. Plus, she’s back on the road starting on February 7 in Tokyo to start the Asian and Australian leg of her Eras tour, which wraps up March 9 in Singapore. After that, she heads to Europe for that leg starting on May 9 in Paris. So Swifties will have to hope Travis likes to travel as the couple keeps their relationship strong.
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