Poll Data Suggests ESPN Might Have A Kelce Brothers Oversaturation Problem

It appears that sports fans are over the Kelce brothers. 

Or, at least 92% are after I tweeted out a poll question last night asking if people were Team Manning Brothers or Team Kelce Brothers. That may not be great news for Amazon's Wondery podcast division, which just signed Jason and Travis Kelce to a $100+ million, three-year deal; or ESPN, which this past offseason signed Jason to a multi-year broadcast deal, reportedly paying $1.8 million annually.

OVERSATURATION 101

A year ago, I wrote an article asking if the Kelce brothers were the new Manning brothers. At the time, many agreed, with some even arguing that Jason and Travis had already replaced Peyton and Eli in terms of the "fun" sports media brothers. After all, the beer-drinking, partying, "we're just regular guys" persona that the Kelce brothers showed was a breath of fresh air in the stale sports / entertainment climate. But it appears the shtick has gone old, and the beer is now skunked. 

The Kelce brothers, and let's be honest, mainly Travis, are everywhere. Oversaturation 101 at its finest in this growing technological, social media world, my friends. 

It appears many of the poll respondents were like me last night trying to watch Monday Night Football on the main ESPN broadcast, wondering why we were inundated with Jason Kelce in the broadcast booth with Buck and Aikman for the entire third and some of the fourth quarter. Personally, I found myself switching back to the ManningCast much more frequently regardless of whatever Peyton and Eli were talking about. This was especially true after fans had already heard from Jason Kelce in the pregame show (in which he may have blown out some Philly fan's knee after a chest bump) as well as heard his thoughts on the halftime broadcast. Another quarter and a half of Jason Kelce of all people seemed a bit excessive. 

It seems to me Jason would have been much better off going on ESPN2's ManningCast, which was precisely the point of it existing in the first place - get the casual, "hanging out at a bar talking football" crowd. Unfortunately, it may appear that some ESPN executives purposely tried to put Jason on the main broadcast to give him a more ‘professional’ feel, when in reality they should just let him be himself, which is why the network signed him in the first place!

SWIFTIES WILL BOUNCE ON EVERYTHING TRAVIS DOES IF THEY BREAK UP

A look through the responses to my poll question appears to show that Jason may be collateral damage from his brother Travis being everywhere because of Taylor Swift. Although some sports media talking heads refuse to admit it and at times even chastise it, there is without a doubt a growing number of sports fans who want to watch sports for sports. As I once again wrote earlier this year in a piece about Travis and Taylor Swift, sports fans would turn on E! or Extra or Entertainment Tonight if they want to know Travis Kelce's life outside the 60 minutes he plays every Sunday on the field. Instead, they are being hounded by it nonstop (or at least in their minds it's nonstop).

As far as the Manning brothers go, there's something hilariously awesome about Peyton being able to balance his incredible football IQ while also ripping younger brother Eli, who can also dish it right back at him.

Do I expect my poll to suddenly change the way the Kelce brothers are all the craze right now with executives and media buyers? Of course not. I'd bet a good amount of money that the Kelce brothers will make their way onto ABC's New Year's Eve coverage, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are hosting the ESPYs with Caitlin Clark as a red carpet reporter (My Venmo is open for a royalty check when ESPN takes this idea from me).

But with Jason Kelce now becoming a weekly fixture for football fans on the MNF broadcast and Travis getting ready to host a game show, star in not only a TV series but also a movie, suddenly life was a lot easier when all we had to be mad about was Peyton Manning saying "Chicken Parm you taste so good!"

One thing's for certain, anyone who is signing Travis to a large deal should pray that he and Taylor Swift don't break up because, as we've learned from Swift's previous boyfriends, the Swifties' will bounce and turn on him in a second. 

THOUGHTS? OPINIONS?  TWEET ME: @TheGunzShow