How Travis Kelce thirsted after Lorne Michaels to get on SNL

Taylor Swift wasn’t the first relationship in which Travis Kelce was the pursuer… he also thirsted after SNL hosting duties.

In the New York Times’ deep dive piece on Travis Kelce’s business managers, Aaron and André Eanes, an amusing story is shared about how Travis Kelce ended up hosting Saturday Night Live in March of 2023.

Turns out Kelce is a lifelong comedy fan, and his desire to be on SNL stemmed from his short-lived hot mess of a reality dating show, Catching Kelce on E! After that series ran for only eight episodes and didn’t result in Kelce finding true love, Kelce told his co-managers to try to land him his most coveted role in entertainment — as the host of the long-running Saturday night institution.

It’s hard to imagine this now, given Kelce’s massive superstar turn, but apparently the show wasn’t immediately sold on him to host. As the article explains, “Aaron Eanes reached out to the show’s producers during the 2020 season, but their reciprocated interest sounded lukewarm at best.”

However, the piece goes on to explain “That changed in October 2021 after Mr. Kelce dropped into an ‘SNL’ after-party before a game in Philadelphia and went to work, chatting up (and impressing) Lorne Michaels.”

A few months later, the day after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl against the Eagles to be exact, Aaron Eanes’ got a call at 9 a.m. from SNL’s booking agent with the news Kelce had been waiting for.

Eanes explained to the agent, “I don’t think he’s even been to sleep yet.”

Kelce went on to impressively host Saturday Night Live’s March 4, 2023 episode, even getting emotional during the show’s opening monologue — in which his brother Jason and parents Ed and Donna Kelce were also featured.

As Kelce explained on the stage of Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8H in a moment of heartfelt sincerity, “It’s cool to be here. I grew up watching SNL with my mother. I love [Will] Ferrell, the Sandman [Adam Sandler], Chris Farley… and to be standing on this stage… [sighs] Pretty surreal. And tonight, I’m gonna give it everything I got!”

It’s no surprise Lorne Michaels eventually succumbed to Travis Kelce‘s charm with a pitch like that. From there, the rest of Kelce’s rise to celebrity superstardom is pretty well documented, but a great deal of his later success in entertainment stems from that coveted first Saturday Night Live hosting experience.