If the 2026 season does turn out to be Travis Kelce‘s final season, one NFL legend already appears to have a landing spot in mind for the tight end. Troy Aikman is not just imagining Kelce behind a microphone, but the ESPN broadcaster has also openly entertained the idea of bringing the Kansas City Chiefs star into the network’s fold.
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According to Troy Aikman, broadcasting could be one of the most natural steps for Kelce after his retirement. Aikman opened up about Kelce’s future during his appearance on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch and suggested that the 36-year-old could have a long list of opportunities waiting for him once his playing days come to an end.
“Clearly, he’s a happy young man right now, as he should be,” said Troy Aikman on Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch. “But the sky’s the limit for him. I mean, he’s a really talented guy, as is his brother Jason, who we have at ESPN. If he wants to, it sounds like he wants to do television.”
During an April 2026 appearance on New Heights, Aikman praised Jason Kelce’s work at ESPN and suggested the network would be even stronger if Travis eventually joined him. Travis responded positively, saying he would enjoy the opportunity to work at ESPN after his playing career.
His brother Jason Kelce has already made the jump from the NFL to ESPN. After retiring from the Philadelphia Eagles, Jason joined ESPN. Meanwhile, Aikman knows the transition from the field to the broadcast booth firsthand. After retiring from the Dallas Cowboys following the 2000 season, he began his broadcasting career with Fox in 2001 and spent two decades as one of the network’s leading NFL analysts before joining ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth with Joe Buck in March 2022.
Travis Kelce’s interviews, podcast work and entertainment projects have expanded his profile beyond the NFL audience, making him a familiar face even to viewers who do not closely follow football.
“Yes, because I want to broadcast when I’m done playing,” Travis said, as per Bleacher Report, June 12, 2024. “I want to be right here and tell them about the game, the old ball coach, ladies and gentlemen!’ I want to do that. I want to be the talking head who calls the games.”
The proof is already sitting in plain sight. New Heights, the podcast he hosts with his brother Jason, has become a major sports-media property. As of today, it ranks No. 6 among U.S. sports podcasts on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify, according to PodFollow’s chart data. The brothers can continue the same at ESPN when paired together.
Also, the podcast’s audience gave Travis something many former players spend years trying to build, and Taylor Swift’s presence in August 2025 broke records for the most concurrent views for a podcast on YouTube, peaking at 1.3 million live viewers.
The ESPN connection could also make the possibility more fascinating.
ESPN’s chairman, Jimmy Pitaro, also showed interest in speaking with Travis about the role when the time is right. Travis discussed broadcasting as something he could pursue after football, although no post-retirement deal has been confirmed.
“We’d love to talk to Travis when he’s ready,” Pitaro told the Daily Mail, October 3, 2025.
For now, the microphone is a future possibility. Travis’ attention is still on his game. But Aikman’s words offer a glimpse behind the curtain. When the NFL eventually loses the TE, television could be waiting to explore Travis Kelce as a broadcaster.