Travis Kelce has been one of the most popular players in the NFL over the past few years, and his popularity only got bigger after he started dating Taylor Swift. Being a popular player can definitely pay off, and Kelce found that out during the 2024 season when he earned $3.25 million in licensing royalties from the NFLPA.
Although Kelce got a big check, he wasn’t the NFLPA’s highest earner in 2024. According to Sportico, that honor belonged to Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who pulled in an eye-popping $4 million in royalties. McCarthy was the ONLY player on the NFLPA’s royalty list who cracked the $4 million mark for the 2024 season.
It’s been a big month for McCarthy, who recently announced that he’s expecting a child with his fiancée, Katya Kuropas.
The baby is due in September, which means he’ll be arriving just in time for football season.
As for the royalty numbers, those come from the NFLPA’s annual report (via Sportico), which is filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. The report only takes into account the sales of things that the NFLPA licenses, such as jerseys, video games and trading cards. Although Kelce likely made millions from the dozens of commercials he appeared in during the 2024 season, most of those aren’t included in the NFLPA total since those companies don’t sell NFLPA licensed merchandise. (If Kelce is in a commercial, that money is paid directly to him.)
The 12-month earnings period ended on Feb. 28, 2025, which means a solid chunk of their royalties were made during the 2024 season. Of course, McCarthy didn’t play a single snap during the 2024 season, so you might be wondering how he was able to pull in $4 million worth of royalties. For one, his jersey was likely a hot-seller. With a player like Patrick Mahomes, most fans who want his jersey already have one, but that’s not the case with rookies. Fans weren’t able to go out…
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