Travis & Jason Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ Ep. 41: rookie financial mistakes and rule changes

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his older brother — Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce — host a weekly podcast called "New Heights." The title is an homage to the Cleveland Heights, Ohio, neighborhood in which they grew up.

In the latest episode, the Kelce Brothers offer life advice to the incoming rookie class and talk about some financial blunders they made of their own once they had a sudden influx of cash... Also, opinions on some of the NFL's recent rule changes.

"New Heights" with Jason & Travis Kelce | Jukes Original Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment | You can also listen to the show on Spotify.

1. New kickoff rule

Neither brother is a fan of the NFL's new kickoff rule, which indicates if a kick returner signals for a fair catch anywhere within the 25-yard line, the receiving team receives the ball at the 25.

Travis didn't mince words when offering his thoughts.

"I think this is absolutely stupid," he said. "I don't think this is making the game safer. I think it's making it more boring and taking a lot of excitement out of the game's opening play. This is whack."

Jason agreed and added that the rule change would remove an aspect of excitement from the game.

"We're just getting closer and closer to getting rid of special teams. I mean, it's like the only thing left now is punt. When is somebody not going to fair catch it and take the ball to 25? Unless it's just a really bad kick, right? I don't know."

2. Travis' first purchase with an NFL bank account

Travis had a $703,000 signing bonus and earned an average salary of $781,000 on his rookie contract. This is not a significant amount by NFL standards, but it's still life-changing money for an individual coming out of college.

When asked about the money he earned on his rookie deal, Travis said the only thing left to show for his rookie contract was a rare pair of sneakers.

"I had my eyes on a pair of size 13 Nike Air Mag Marty McFly's," he said, "the coolest shoes that I'd ever seen in my life. As soon as I got my check, I immediately went online and sourced them."

Travis said he had dreamed about owning those sneakers since he first saw "Back To The Future II" as a child.

"I've always been a big Nike guy, and then, you know, watching 'Back To The Future' so many freaking times and seeing what the Nikes look like in the future and the fact that they were, you know, antigravity... self-tying, oh man!"

3. Financial advice for rookies

You learn a lot of hard lessons in your 20s. You're transitioning from being a teenager into a full-fledged adult. On top of all of the new expectations and responsibilities of adulthood, there are a lot of little things that most people are not taught while growing up.

1. What is a 401K and how much should you contribute to it?

2. How do you negotiate with a car dealership and figure out what your actual car payment will be?

3. How do you buy a house— and how much house can you actually afford once you figure in all of the hidden costs?

This is just the tip of the adulthood iceberg — there is an entire gauntlet of financial pitfalls to avoid as an adult, and sometimes, it feels like if you don't pull exactly all of the right levers, your life could blow up instantly.

Imagine you are making 10 or even 100 times the amount a normal person makes, and you are going to make this much for what could be anywhere from one to 10 years. If you are able to stick in the league long enough to get to a second contract, you need to figure out how to make this money last for the rest of your life. It may sound easy, but it's harder than you think.

Travis said that he initially fought against needing a manager but eventually conceded that he was in over his head.

"After I realized that I needed someone to help me with this, it was one of the best decisions I made was getting a financial advisor... you don't have to have a million dollars in the bank to get a financial advisor.

"You can just have however much you, you are making literally however much you're making, whether you're 60,000 is your signing bonus or you don't even get a signing bonus, you're just getting game checks, get a financial guy, get somebody that can help structure that s—t."

When he appeared on "The Pivot Podcast," Travis admitted that when he was a younger player, he was living paycheck to paycheck and when the season ended and the checks stopped, that his bank account was almost empty. He stated that this financial situation is what ultimately led him to agree to appear on the reality TV show, "Catching Kelce."

"There's no f—ing worse feeling than not being secure financially and especially when you're making as much money as we are at this age in the league. It's pretty embarrassing actually, so definitely go out, get somebody to help you with your finances or at least help you line that s—t up, man."

Kelce discusses his finances and "Catching Kelce" at the 34-minute mark.