Travis Kelce has had quite the summer, supporting girlfriend Taylor Swift at several stops along the European leg of her famed Eras Tour. This weekend, Swift will be performing concerts in front of 75,000 fans in Milan. But her boyfriend will be a headlining act for his own crowd of 70,000+ nearly 6,000 miles away.
Kelce is one of the top draws at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, a long-running celebrity golf tournament that has quickly become one of the hottest VIP invites in sports and entertainment in recent years. “The waiting list is off the charts,” says Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, who has competed in the tournament most years since retiring in 2009 and is typically at the top of the final leaderboard.
The A-Team
This week, first-year participants are highlighted by Alex Rodriguez, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (fresh off his five-year, $275 million contract extension), and Rob McElhenney, the actor who’s grown even more famous as the co-owner of Welsh soccer club Wrexham. Tony Romo (above) has won the tournament three times, and he is annually joined by fellow sports stars like Aaron Rodgers and Charles Barkley, as well as household Hollywood names like Ray Romano.
Steph Curry won the American Century Championship last year, as a record 76,810 fans attended the three-day tournament. He’s getting ready to play for Team USA in the Paris Olympics, though, so his absence created one of about a dozen or so coveted spots that open up each summer.
“I can’t tell you how many people that will text me, or ask me, ‘How do I get in?’” says Kathryn Tappen, a tournament regular and reporter for NBC Sports, which owns the event.
“It’s a very challenging process,” NBC Sports executive Jon Miller tells Front Office Sports. “We have a group of people who work on this year-round, and they’re constantly out there looking for new names.” Less than 100 spots are available, and this year, 12 are taken by active NFL players or coaches, also including Davante Adams and Josh Allen. “Ideally, if you’re bringing new people in, they need to be relevant and recognizable names,” says Miller.
‘Strike While the Iron’s Hot’
“It was not that simple,” Super Bowl–winning quarterback Joe Flacco says of his efforts to secure a spot in the field, which is a stark contrast to years past. “I remember, early in my career, getting little cards in your locker about this tournament and not really thinking too much of it.”
The 17-year pro signed with the Colts this spring after a late-season run leading the Browns to the playoffs returned Flacco to the national spotlight. An old teammate of his, now retired tight end Dennis Pitta, encouraged Flacco to try to play. “Because [last season] happened to be a little bit of a story, he’s like, ‘Dude, you’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot.’” After a few phone calls, Flacco’s publicist pulled the right strings, and he’s teeing it up with Pitta as his caddy.
There’s Always Next Year
NBC launched the celebrity golf event in 1990 to fill summer programming space after the network lost MLB media rights. But it turned into such a success that it became an annual tradition, offering $750,000 in prize money, and is now a consistent money-maker for NBC. Last year’s final round, which included some raucous scenes after Curry made a hole-in-one, averaged 1.4 million viewers.
“I don’t want Jon Miller’s job ever, with regards to telling people they can’t play in this tournament,” Tappen says. “Because he’s getting phone calls all year long with celebrities wanting to play.”
Maybe the waiting list isn’t so bad, though.
“That’s never a comfortable conversation or an easy thing to have to deal with,” Miller says. “But just because you miss one year, doesn’t mean you’re going to miss every year.”
