Why report of Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and prime-time NFL broadcast job makes sense
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kelce is a possible wild-card candidate for Thursday Night Football analyst.
- Kelce could reportedly earn about $15M a year as a studio presence.
- Michaels’ retirement and Herbstreit’s contract are key factors for Prime.
NFL teams aren’t the only ones to make roster changes during the offseason. Networks do, too.
There’s usually a shake-up to the broadcast teams calling games and studio analysts, along with some comings and goings. For example, Tony Dungy reportedly has been dropped from “Sunday Night Football” coverage on NBC, according to the Athletic.
One domino that could affect other network moves is the future of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
While the Chiefs have dual plans for a Kelce return or retirement, when he finally does quit playing, it could impact NFL broadcast plans.
Kelce’s brother, Jason, joined ESPN as an analyst after retiring following a decorated career with the Eagles.
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand said when Kelce retires from the Chiefs, he could receive a big paycheck from a network.
“Travis Kelce appears as if he will try to play another season before potentially trying broadcasting,” Marchand wrote, “where he would like to call games, but probably could pick up at least $15 million per year as a studio presence.”
The Athletic story took a closer look at the “Thursday Night Football” broadcasters. It said play-by-play man Al Michaels, 81, could retire after the 2026 season while Amazon analyst Kirk Herbstreit has one year left his contract. And Amazon is looking at Ian Eagle as Michaels’ replacement.
“If Prime Video moves on from Herbstreit,” Marchand wrote, “it could look at the well-respected Greg Olsen of Fox and (CBS Sports’ J.J.) Watt, but the wild cards are Kelce and (Rams coach Sean) McVay.”
Why Kelce makes sense for ‘Thursday Night Football’
If he wants to be a “Thursday Night Football” game analyst alongside Eagle, Kelce could have an inside edge.
Kelce, 36, took Hollywood by storm in 2024. After the Chiefs’ Super Bowl repeat, he acted on FX’s “Grotesquerie” and was host of “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?”
The latter was on Amazon Prime, so Kelce already has a connection to the streaming giant. And that could give him an edge if Kelce decides to try broadcasting.
The “Thursday Night Football” gig wouldn’t open up until after this season, so perhaps Kelce would lean toward returning to the Chiefs.
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 11:37 AM.
