Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey recently suggested that Travis Kelce’s hit podcast, New Heights, owes much of its success to the Kansas City Chiefs tight end’s relationship with global pop star Taylor Swift. In a playful exchange on his own podcast, Punch Line, Humphrey humorously hinted that Kelce’s rising popularity in the podcast space might not be entirely due to his football prowess.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” Humphrey said, referring to his upcoming matchup against Kelce. “He’s tried to take everything from me,” the 28-year-old told his co-host, Jack Settleman, during Sunday’s episode. The Ravens’ star was gearing up for a showdown with Kelce at Arrowhead Stadium, a game he jokingly described as “pod vs. pod.”
Humphrey, who launched his podcast Punch Line in August 2023, just months before Kelce’s high-profile romance with Taylor Swift made headlines, took a friendly jab at the Kelce brothers’ rapid rise in the podcasting world. Last month, Travis and his brother Jason Kelce—center for the Philadelphia Eagles—signed a massive $100 million, three-year deal with Amazon’s Wondery. The deal gives Wondery exclusive ad-sales and distribution rights for New Heights, a podcast that has become a sensation among sports and pop culture fans alike.
“He’s got to pay for what he’s done to the podcast space,” Humphrey quipped, referring to the Kelce brothers’ dominance in the sports podcasting realm. “He’s tried to eliminate us.”
Humphrey didn’t stop there, joking that Travis’s relationship with Taylor Swift, which became public in the summer of 2023, had something to do with his podcast’s success. “Honestly, it’s not right. I don’t care who he’s dating,” Humphrey said bluntly, implying that Swift’s influence might have boosted New Heights.
The banter continued as Humphrey declared that his upcoming game against Kelce would be the ultimate test of which podcast would reign supreme. “We’ll see what heights are higher,” he added with a grin, referencing New Heights and the competitive nature between the two podcasts. His co-host, Settleman, joked that if the Ravens beat the Chiefs, Amazon might throw their podcast a similarly lucrative deal.
“Honestly, what do we do if we lose?” Humphrey pondered aloud, to which Settleman simply responded, “Just carry on.”
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Humphrey acknowledged Kelce’s on-field persona, describing him as someone who “talks a lot of trash” but admitted that Kelce is “actually a cool dude.” He continued to rib Kelce, calling him “football trash” in a lighthearted way, but also floated the idea that his podcast might gain more viewers if he could get Travis and Swift as guests. “That might take us to the next level,” he joked.
Settleman added fuel to the playful fire by suggesting that the Kelce brothers’ $100 million deal likely included a cameo from Swift on an episode of New Heights. “That’s gotta be in the Amazon deal,” Humphrey agreed with a laugh.
“Screw them! Unless [Swift] wants to come on [our show], for real,” Humphrey joked, signaling that he’d welcome the pop star on his podcast if the opportunity arose.
Toward the end of the episode, the duo encouraged their fans to get creative and share their best Swift-themed jabs at Travis Kelce in the comments section of the podcast. The friendly rivalry between Punch Line and New Heights seemed to be all in good fun, with both Humphrey and Settleman leaning into the viral nature of Kelce’s relationship and the booming success of his podcast.
The Kelce brothers have previously acknowledged the increased attention their podcast has received since Travis started dating Swift. At the Cannes Lions festival in June, Travis mentioned the growing number of new listeners, many of whom are more familiar with Swift than football. “We do have a lot of new football fans coming in,” he said, explaining that they’ve had to adjust the tone of the podcast to make it more accessible to casual listeners.
Jason Kelce, who retired from the NFL after a stellar career with the Philadelphia Eagles, expressed his appreciation for how the show is bringing new demographics into the football world. “I love that more girls are getting involved in a sport where previously there wasn’t much interest,” Jason said, adding that it’s also helping fathers and daughters bond over football.
The Kelce brothers launched New Heights in September 2022, a little under a year before Travis’s relationship with Swift became public. Meanwhile, Marlon Humphrey’s Punch Line podcast debuted in August 2023, shortly before the couple’s romance was confirmed.
As Humphrey gears up for his Thursday night matchup against Travis Kelce, one thing is clear—this friendly rivalry between NFL players-turned-podcasters will provide plenty of entertainment both on and off the field.
