Jason and Travis Kelce‘s “intern” is spilling behind-the-scenes secrets of their “New Heights” empire.
During a bonus episode of the siblings’ podcast, which dropped via Wondery+ on Thursday, February 27, Jason, 37, and Travis, 35, were asked about meeting their producer Brandon Borders (a.k.a. Intern Brandon). After recapping his pre-podcast career, which included working on The Soup, Borders recalled when he realized “New Heights” would be a hit.
“You were fighting about the title of the show,” he remembered. “I don’t remember what the options were, but Jason, you were really conflicted between two or three. You really were like, ‘I don’t know about New Heights.’ And I remember Travis going, ‘That’s the name you f—–g pitched!’”
Jason eventually came around, but the brotherly argument made an impression on Borders. “I was like, ‘Oh s—, these guys are gonna be really good podcasters,’” he teased.
Jason Kelce Reveals Why His Podcast With Brother Travis Is So Popular
Jason wasn’t surprised by the story, joking, “This is the way all my decisions are made. … I go back and forth and really meticulously try to think something through. And Travis is like, ‘Just do this,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense.’”
While Borders couldn’t specifically recall what the other potential titles were, he did remember being unimpressed. “They were bad. They were, like, football puns or something,” he said.
Borders also looked back on his first interaction with Jason, which took place over Zoom. “My first introduction to you was you getting on the Zoom call and you were clearly holding your laptop and walking around. You set it down and you’re like, ‘Hold on, I gotta put a shirt on,’” Borders said. “I was like, ‘I get this guy.’”
Jason and Travis began their podcast in 2022. The retired NFL star previously opened up about how working on the show with his younger brother brought them closer together.
“Before this, we would go months on our own deal without talking,” Jason said on “Green Light with Chris Long” in February 2024. “We would text, you would send a funny video or something like that. But truly sit down and talk with him? It would be a long time. Doing this once a week, we’re gonna sit down and talk, and we’re gonna have very meaningful conversations, fun conversations and really know where each of us are at in their lives. That’s the most fun part about it.”
Travis and Jason Kelce Open Up About ‘Worlds Colliding’ on ‘New Heights’
The conversations have changed over the past two years as Travis’ relationship with girlfriend Taylor Swift introduced a new group of fans to the sports show. While “New Heights” still leans heavily into NFL coverage, the brothers aren’t bothered by their new audience demographic.
“I think, you know, we wanna be careful to really stay loyal to the people who have tuned in from day one. We know that a lot of the guys tuning in — and women tuning in — are diehard football fans and they want that content,” Jason said at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival. “We talk about our lives. But now it’s really expanding.”
