Travis Kelce is reportedly in talks to become the host of an “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” reboot on Amazon Prime Video. You’ve likely seen the football star in multiple commercials, “Saturday Night Live” and even the Super Bowl champ’s own dating show in 2016: “Catching Kelce.”
The game show hosting gig “would represent the football great’s latest move toward general entertainment,” Variety reported.
Kelce still plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and hasn’t announced plans on retiring his football career, so some close to the matter have expressed concern “about how much a commitment Kelce could make to the venture,” per Variety.
The conversations are ongoing, and the deal has not yet closed, according to Deadline.
Premise of ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?’ game show
The reboot version of the show will reportedly feature celebrity guests who will play trivia games against a panel of child contestants, per USA Today. The original show premiered in 2005 with Jeff Foxworthy as the host and featured everyday grown-ups who tested their knowledge and skills against fifth graders on an elementary school-themed set.
Will Jason Kelce make an appearance on ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?’
No word yet on if the boisterous brother and fellow NFL star Jason Kelce will make an appearance, but the Eagles player has been known to catch media attention in the past with his talent, jokes and antics.
During the NFL playoffs, Jason Kelce proved a fan favorite in the crowd around the press box and on social media, after jumping into the stands excitedly, sharing food with other attendees and even ripping his shirt off in dramatic fashion when the Chiefs scored a touchdown.
He also co-hosts “New Heights,” a family and sports podcast he does with his brother. He has also made multiple media appearances, most recently including an appearance on “Abbott Elementary.”
As for Taylor Swift appearing on the show, that still has yet to be determined, but she has performed cameos in the past on television shows, such as “New Girl,” “CSI” and “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”
Travis Kelce media appearances and public ventures
Known for his goofy humor, sweet-hearted nature and being prone to break out in song, Kelce is no stranger to media attention. It doesn’t hurt that he’s currently dating the biggest superstar in the world right now — Taylor Swift.
Just 38% of adults knew of Kelce before he started dating Swift publicly, and now 60% of adults are aware of the star, according to a poll conducted by Morning Consult.
But he had been building a career in the public eye off the field for years before the relationship. Kelce has earned an estimated $5 million in endorsements to date, per Forbes. Currently, he employs a team that includes a publicist and four agents, as well as representation from Creative Artists Agency.
Recently, a New York Times article highlighted the tight end’s media success and credited much of it to two twin brothers, who knew Kelce during college that charted a path to one day make Kelce “as famous as the Rock,” referring to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The last year has proven their meticulous business model.
Here are some of his other media appearances of note:
- “Catching Kelce” — a dating competition show where “50 eligible women, one from each U.S. state will be invited to Los Angeles as this fun-loving athlete searches for that special someone to become his lifelong ‘teammate,’” according to the Amazon Prime Video season description. It ran for seven episodes.
- “Saturday Night Live” — he hosted the comedy sketch show in March 2022 and made an appearance during a skit about Swift’s NFL splash in October.