Travis Kelce Recalls Being 'Damn Near Broke' During His First NFL Season: “I Was Avoiding the Rent Lady”
Travis Kelce had signed a rookie contract for $4 million but still lived life as a "broke." The National Football League (NFL) star revealed the details when he was legit hiding from his rent lady on his New Heights podcast in May 2023. Today, the 34-year-old is considered one of the greatest tight-ends of all time.
The footballer recalled the time when by the end of his first year in the NFL, he was "damn near dead broke." On the podcast, which he co-hosts with brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason, Kelce revealed that in 2013, he signed a contract worth $3.12 million and a $703,304 signing bonus, but despite that, he couldn't afford rent.
He shared, "I had my eyes on a pair of size 13 Nike Air MAG 'Marty McFlys' — the coolest shoes that I'd ever seen in my life," as reported by CNBC. Kelce continued, "As soon as I got my check, I immediately went online and sourced them." As a shoe fanatic, he admitted to splurging around $10,000 on the limited edition sneaker.
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His brother Jason Kelce recalled being shocked at the price tag of the sneakers after they arrived. "Somebody came up to me and told me that you had bought those shoes, and I looked up how much they were, and I remember being like, 'What the f*** Travis." However, Kelce didn't stop his splurging habit there.
The succeeding expense from that $3 million went to his travels between games. Kelce shared that soon after buying his favorite sneakers, he traveled to Las Vegas and Florida, spending "way too much money in clubs." He also revealed the 'dumbest' thing he bought from the rookie money.
"The dumbest thing I ever bought with my rookie money was bottles in the club," Kelce referred to the VIP bottle services in clubs worth thousands of dollars. Consequently, he had no money to pay the rent and had to play hide and seek from his landlady. "I was avoiding the rent lady because I was so stupid to agree to all those bottles," he admitted.
"Rookies out there, don't get caught up in buying bottles; it's the fastest way to lose your money," he added. As part of the contract, he was only paid during the early days of the season. Therefore, he was nearly broke by the beginning of the NFL's second season. "Rookies didn't realize that once the season was over, you weren't getting paid," Kelce shared.
"A lot of people were not realizing that those checks were going to stop," adding, "I was one of those guys." However, times have now changed, and the Kansas City Chief's superstar is now worth $30 million, reported Insider. The great tight end has earned over $77 million in his NFL career.
