‘I don’t want to put my mom in that position’: Travis Kelce hand picks two family members he wants to see on his new game show

Travis Kelce has spoken. He has a short list of loved ones he’d like to see compete on his new show, Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity, and has named the one family member he wouldn’t want to see in the hot seat.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, who’s firmly in the spotlight due to his highly publicized relationship with singer Taylor Swift, has added several new gigs to his resume during the 2024 NFL season.

One is hosting the Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader spinoff show, Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity, which premiered on Prime Video on Oct. 16, 2024.  

WATCH: Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity on Prime (free trial)

The Chiefs star has swapped his uniform for a suit to host the quiz-style game show, which sees contestants prove their smarts by answering simple questions for a chance to win a $100,000 grand prize. 

Instead of elementary schoolers, the Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity panel is full of celebs, including Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent, former NFL player Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson, and comedian Nikki Glaser. 

“I would love to get somebody in my family up there,” Travis told Today.  “Either my dad or my brother, because it can get a little embarrassing if you don’t know, like the simplest of questions,” he said. “I think my dad would do pretty good. Jason… He’s got some pretty good trivia knowledge, so I think he’d fare pretty good as well.” 

HOW TO WATCH: Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity on Prime (free trial)

While you may think the lady Travis would want to protect would be his girlfriend, Swift, he didn’t name her during the interview. He instead said his mother, Donna Kelce, is the one person he wouldn’t want to see in the hot seat. “… I don’t want to put my mom in that position,” the NFL star said.

If he had his chance in the hostseat, Travis said he thinks he could “probably make it to fourth or fifth grade,” but doesn’t know if he would make it to the grand prize. Here’s everything you need to know to watch Are You Smarter than a Celebrity, including airtimes and streaming information.

Kelce’s on-set experience

Travis said stepping into the hosting ring to film the game show has been “pretty natural” for him, although he’s had one semi-embarrassing blooper. 

“I was being silly with one of my friends backstage and trying to act like I was kicking them, like I was Bruce Lee, and I ripped the entire inseam on my suit pants, and it took, like, 15 minutes for somebody to come in and sew that back together for me,” Travis dished. It’s not surprising that hosting the game show has been an easy transition for the tight end, as he already hosts a popular weekly podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, alongside his brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles player Jason. 

That gig is nothing to sneeze about either, as it’s the top-rated show on Apple and Spotify podcast charts and was the fourth most-listened-to podcast in the U.S. last year, according to Newsweek. The Kelce brothers recently signed a $100 million plus deal with Amazon’s Wondery, per Variety.