Travis Kelce‘s meteoric rise to fame in 2023 was no accident—it was the result of his managers’ strategically-crafted plan. And evidently, they took a page from the playbook of another former professional athlete: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
A New York Times article published on Jan. 2 featured Kelce’s business managers, twin brothers André and Aaron Eanes, who opened up about the Kansas City Chiefs tight end’s fame. In February 2023, Kelce offhandedly told the Eanes brothers that he didn’t think he’d “ever be as famous at The Rock” after seeing a billboard of the former WWE star.
Their answer: “Yes, you can.”
Over the past year, Kelce’s team won Super Bowl LVII. The NFL player also hosted Saturday Night Live, promoted Pfizer and State Farm, co-hosted one of the most popular podcasts, New Heights, with his Philadelphia Eagles center brother, Jason Kelce, and topped the Billboard charts with the brothers’ holiday song, “Fairytale of Philadelphia.”
Not to mention, he and Taylor Swift went public with their relationship in October 2023 (although that bit wasn’t part of the Eanes brothers’ strategy).
Interestingly, Johnson also got his start in the entertainment industry by hosting SNL. After his stint in the sketch comedy series in 2000, The Rock snagged his first acting role as the Scorpion King in the 2001 film, The Mummy Returns.
“I had an amazing time,” Johnson told E! News in 2022, of hosting SNL. “And it was after that that we got a few big calls from some Hollywood studios saying, ‘Is The Rock interested in breaking into Hollywood and making movies?’ And that started the first step of many.”
In 2002, Johnson reprised his role in The Scorpion King in 2002—and he has since gone on to star in the Fast & Furious franchise, a couple of Jumanji films, Moana, Black Adam and many more films. His sitcom, Young Rock, also ran for three seasons on NBC.
Another fun connection between Johnson and Kelce: Johnson’s voice made a cameo in the pop star’s music video for “The Man.”
Who knows? If Kelce’s career trajectory continues to follow Johnson’s, perhaps in a couple years, he will have retired from the NFL and be starring in the latest blockbuster action film!
Next: The 2 Things Travis Kelce Says He’s Giving Up in the New Year