Travis Kelce’s Garage Beer now worth US$200 million

The NFL star might have just got engaged to Taylor Swift, but he has another reason to celebrate. The Ohio-based Garage Beer business he co-owns is now valued at more than $200 million, with a massive industry figure due to join its board of directors.

Garage Beer has secured funds from private-equity investor Durational Capital Management (DCM), bringing the business’ value to around US$200 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Garage CEO Andy Sauer says that the company is on track to bring in $60 million-$70 million worth of revenue this year, more than triple the $20 million it made in 2024.

The enormous step-up in sales likely has much to do with brothers Travis and Jason Kelce buying into the brand and appearing in its marketing campaigns, including a retro martial arts-themed advert. Travis, who plays offence for NFL team the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jason, a former Philadelphia Eagles player for 13 seasons, joined Garage Beer in June 2024, coming on board as “significant investors, partners, owners, and operators”, said a statement issued by the company at the time. Welcoming them to the company, Garage said that Jason and Travis would be involved in “every aspect of the business, including brewing, distribution, sales, marketing, and national expansion efforts.”

“Jason and Travis believe that beer should be fun, and they want to partner with a brand that embodies the spirit of a neighbourhood feel, a light beer all will enjoy,” read the statement.

Mic drop moment

Since the football players’ involvement sales have rocketed, and the new DCM investment will be used to expand Garage Beer’s marketing and offering, according to the Wall Street Journal report, perhaps even diversifying the product range beyond its existing two products – Garage’s flagship light beer and a lime flavoured variant. Through its investment, DCM has become “a large shareholder” in the brand, though its exact stake in the business has not yet been divulged.

There’s another mic drop moment, too. The former head of the beer division at Constellation Brands, which owns household names Modelo and Corona, is set to join Garage Beer’s board of directors, and is coming out of retirement to do so. Bill Hackett worked for Pabst Brewing Company in the ’70s before leading the Corona portfolio through the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s before retiring in February, 2019.

“As Bill said at our annual distributor meeting, this business and our company will always be in his blood and soul,” said Constellation spokesperson Mike McGrew at the time.  “He laid the foundation and helped build an industry leading company.”

Described by Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of The Beer Institute, as “one of the cornerstones of the American beer industry”, Hackett has long been an advocate for responsible drinking, making the Garage Beer partnership and its light brews an ideal match.

As part of the board restructure, Rich Pascucci, former chief growth officer of Pabst Blue Ribbon, has also joined Garage Beer.

Anti-aspirational?

Speaking about the Kelce brothers’ involvement in the brand, Garage CEO Sauer told the Wall Street Journal “it’s an ‘always-on’ relationship. It’s two people with the same vision and belief in beer, jumping into it.”

A mission statement on Garage Beer’s website outlines that the brand wanted to brew a beer “that we think brings you back to the way American light beer used to be made.” In short, “a beer-flavoured beer”. The company’s flagship 4% light beer is said to contain just 95 calories per can.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the company’s primary slogan – ‘The Garage door is always open’ – is emblematic of the down to earth, anti-aspirational positioning of the brand. “Early on, we knew who our consumer was – just dads, hanging out together in their garages,” Sauer previously told Forbes. Or, as Garage Beer’s marketing team wrote on one of its recent Instagram posts, “our target audience is anyone who’s ever fixed something by hitting it and yelling hell yeah.”

Sauer added: “When you know who you are and when you know who you’re not, then you can just focus on being relatable to those who may have interest in your brand.”

Garage Beer was initially part of a project launched by Braxton Brewing in 2018 before the brand name was acquired by Andy Sauer and repositioned as a standalone business in January, 2023. Since then the company has been on an expansion march, with its beers becoming available throughout the United States. The Garage team has been focused on increasing its visibility through a series of sporting partnerships. In June 2025, for example, Garage Beer bought a stake in football team the St. Joseph Goats, a team competing in The Arena League.

“It’s a bold, possibly confusing leap into the world of professional sports ownership, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said the brothers.

 

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