Podcasting has definitely taken Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s bank account to new heights.
According to Forbes’ annual ranking of the highest-paid podcasters of 2026, Taylor Swift’s husband and his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles lineman Jason Kelce, landed at No. 7 on the list, pulling in an estimated $35 million for their hit show New Heights.
The NFL duo received a major boost following an August 2025 appearance by Swift. The episode was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records after drawing a record-breaking 1.3 million concurrent live views on YouTube. And the football-playing brothers weren’t the only podcasters raking in massive paydays this year.
Taking the No. 1 spot once again was Joe Rogan, whose Spotify flagship The Joe Rogan Experience earned an estimated $82 million over the past 12 months. Following Rogan at No. 2 was OpenAI’s TBPN with $70 million. Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO secured the third spot with $45 million, while Ashley Flowers’ Crime Junkie took fourth place with $42 million.
Rounding out the top five was SmartLess, hosted by actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes. What began as a 2020 pandemic project generated $37 million for its three creators. Just behind the Kelce brothers, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper ranked eighth, pulling in $32 million for her SiriusXM show despite recent public allegations of a “toxic workplace” within her Unwell network. Cooper has previously dismissed the claims as a “smear campaign.”
Other notable personalities featured in the top 20 list include Dax Shepard for Armchair Expert with $25 million, Amy Poehler for Good Hang with $24 million, and Jay Shetty for On Purpose with $21 million. Closing out the top 20 were Summer House reality stars Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo, whose comedy podcast Giggly Squad brought in $18 million.
Forbes noted that its financial estimates track pretax earnings generated from June 2025 to June 2026. Figures encompass minimum guarantees, platform licensing fees, revenue sharing, and live tour events. The data was calculated through interviews with agents, attorneys, managers, industry executives, and field experts.
Here’s the official list of top paid podcasters for 2026, according to Forbes.
- Joe Rogan (The Joe Rogan Experience) – $82 million
- John Coogan and Jordi Hays (TBPN) – $70 million
- Steven Bartlett (The Diary of a CEO) – $45 million
- Ashley Flowers (Crime Junkie) – $42 million
- Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes (SmartLess) – $37 million
- Mel Robbins (The Mel Robbins Podcast) – $35 million
- Jason and Travis Kelce (New Heights) – $35 million
- Alex Cooper (Call Her Daddy) – $32 million
- Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor (Pod Save America) – $28 million
- Charlamagne Tha God (The Breakfast Club) – $27 million
- Dax Shepard (Armchair Expert) – $25 million
- Amy Poehler (Good Hang) – $24 million
- Bill Simmons (The Bill Simmons Podcast) – $22 million
- Jay Shetty (On Purpose) – $21 million
- Joe Budden (The Joe Budden Podcast) – $20 million