Jason Kelce Invested in Apparel Brand Homage
The former athlete utilized his firm Winnie Capital to acquire a stake in the sports-focused retail business.
Updated on Sept. 26, 2026 in Business Strategy
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Jason Kelce recently invested in the sports apparel brand Homage through his investment firm, Winnie Capital. The move adds to the apparel company's high-profile backing as it aims to scale its brand presence.
Why it matters
The investment underscores the strategic shift among high-profile athletes toward equity participation in consumer brands that align with their personal media properties. Homage, which already serves as a merchandising partner for the New Heights podcast, is leveraging these partnerships to anchor its growth.
Homage generated $50 million in 2024 revenue against a total historical funding base of $16.4 million. The brand maintains a broader growth strategy supported by multiple investors, including Kevin Durant and Ryan Reynolds.
The players
Jason Kelce
A former professional athlete turned media entrepreneur who manages an investment portfolio through Winnie Capital.
Homage
A sports apparel brand specializing in nostalgia-driven designs and large-scale merchandising partnerships.
Winnie Capital
An investment firm used by Jason Kelce to execute equity stakes in consumer-facing growth businesses.
Ryan Reynolds
An actor and investor known for his strategy of holding equity in consumer brands that utilize his personal brand for visibility.
Kevin Durant
A professional athlete and high-profile investor who focuses on backing sports-adjacent consumer and media technology companies.
The details
Kelce utilized his investment firm, Winnie Capital, to facilitate the stake acquisition in the apparel retailer. The company, which is rooted in sports nostalgia, is integrating its operations with the New Heights podcast ecosystem to drive customer acquisition. This strategy allows the brand to bypass traditional marketing channels by leveraging the established audience of its merchandising partners.
Timeline
Homage recorded $50 million in annual revenue during 2024.
Jason Kelce pursued various business ventures throughout recent years.
Market Landscape
This deal follows the pattern established by the athlete-driven investment model where high-profile figures transition from standard endorsers to active equity holders in their partner brands. It reflects a shift toward using personal media properties to provide proprietary distribution channels for retail partners.
Operators should monitor how brands leverage influencer equity as a permanent substitution for traditional performance marketing budgets. Evaluating the long-term dependency of a retail supply chain on a single media partnership is essential when assessing the scalability of a brand.
The takeaway
The trend toward athlete-equity models suggests that distribution power is becoming as valuable as capital in consumer retail. Operators should examine their own marketing contracts to determine if existing influencer arrangements provide a pathway for deeper, equity-based partnerships.
Further reading
For more on how companies use celebrity partnerships to scale, see our Business Strategy section.
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Does an athlete's financial backing of a brand make you more likely to trust it?
