March 05, 2024
Jason Kelce gave a speech to officially announce his retirement from football on Monday, and it was perfect.
Thirteen years, and all of their highs, lows, improbables, and the once thought impossible, all beautifully captured in 41 minutes – and through many, many tears.
"That's all I got," he said in his final sign-off as he left the podium to hug his family.
And that was it.
Jason Kelce isn't an Eagle anymore. The unforgettable 13-year run is over.
One day Canton will come calling to immortalize it, but that'll be about five years at the earliest.
For now, there's only the tears, the tributes, and the many, many thank yous.
Here's a collection of some of them from around the local media who have covered most if not all of Kelce's career....
If there was anything absolutely clear about Jason Kelce the football player, it was that he got it. He understood Philadelphia, what it meant to play here, how much it meant to people that you played here, and the weight of all the expectations that come with it.
But he embraced all of it, even when his performance wasn't up to snuff and the whole place wanted him gone. It seems like such a faint memory now, borderline unbelievable even, but 2016, oh yeah, he remembered what it was like to go through that and just as much the work it took to overcome it.
When Kelce had a down year in 2016, he understood why some fans wanted the team to move on. He understood the trade rumors and the talk of him getting released. Kelce even joked that if the Eagles had been offered a couple of new washing machines for him, they would have taken it. He would have traded himself, Kelce said.
But Kelce didn’t take the criticism personally. Instead, he got better. With the help of OL coach Jeff Stoutland, Kelce resurrected his career, earning six All-Pro nods in his final seven NFL seasons.
That 2017 Super Bowl team was so special because it was a team of underdogs, a group that everyone counted out. Kelce was the poster child for that. He wasn’t heavily recruited coming out of high school and joined the Bearcats as a walk-on. He had to wait until the sixth-round of the draft to hear his name as an undersized center. And even the year before the Super Bowl, the team thought about moving on from him. Philly is an underdog city and Kelce is an embodiment of that. So when he poured his heart out on the steps of the art museum during the parade, he meant every word.
It would have been hard to imagine an Eagle ever being as universally loved in Philadelphia as Brian Dawkins once was but Kelce did it.
And that’s why the entire city paused for 41 minutes on Monday to let a legend say goodbye on his own terms. [NBCSP]
And why the city is going to be reeling from it for a while.
Kelce never put on an act either. He's authentic. What you see is what you get. He's that dude.
Jeff McLane, who covered him for years, would know and wrote:
Kelce is more than just genuine. He’s a great dude. (Not the “Dude,” although he has a certain Jeff Lebowski flair.)
Take it from someone who was a fly on the wall for all 13 of his seasons. Or don’t. But consider the necessary skepticism it takes to be a sports journalist in Philly, admittedly one who occasionally lacks a sense of humor on the job, Kelce’s authenticity is as true as his beard is long.
There are plenty reasons why, from nature to nurture. But Kelce seemed to exist outside his head more than most. It’s increasingly difficult in today’s world.
He mentioned how he felt as Tom Brady’s last-gasp pass in Super Bowl LII hung in the air — “Just looking, no sound registering, completely engulfed in the moment” — and it could have described his perceptions as he surveyed a defense and set protections pre-snap at center.
Kelce sensed it all — on the field and off. [The Inquirer]
Bo Wulf has too, and on an adjacent path, with both new to their roles 13 years ago, but with each finding their ways to succeed within them.
But what Wulf saw and documented on Monday wasn't through the lens of parallel careers in different fields, it was through the lens of fostering what comes after:
His memories are my memories, just from a different perspective.
But I did not identify with Kelce Monday. Instead, I was struck by the scene 15 or 20 minutes before Kelce ambled up to the podium, tears already in his eyes. Other than Kelce’s agent Jason Bernstein, the first person to arrive at the section reserved for friends and family was his dad, Ed, looking sharp as I’ve ever seen him with a dapper suit jacket and slicked-back hair. Shortly thereafter, Jeff Stoutland walked in surrounded by his own family of four.
Kelce’s two proud fathers.
Through that prism, it was easy to recognize that Kelce’s dreams were not the only ones that all came true.
....
As he closed the book on his playing career, having defeated the game by retiring of his own accord amid a streak of 156 consecutive games played, the father of three young girls referred to what comes next. As has been the case for 13 years, he said it best.
“A life,” Kelce said, “that increasingly brings me more fulfillment off the field than it does on.” [PHLY]
Well, Kelce is going to have no shortage of options, especially in the media space.
He's reportedly already had feeling-out conversations with a couple of networks back at the Super Bowl, but now that the news is official, they should all be getting their pitches ready.
CBS has a wide-open desk after the Super Bowl and has interest in Kelce. While host James Brown is signed for two more years and newcomer J.J. Watt is due back, Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms are all free agents. This is why Kelce and CBS have already held talks.
While NBC and CBS are viewed as the favorites, ESPN is always a stalking horse and has interest. It has a variety of shows from its marquees on Sunday and Monday to its daily NFL programs.
Meanwhile, Fox is in a Super Bowl year, but its desk is already full and its shows are on the West Coast, making it an unlikely destination. Amazon Prime Video could only offer a contributor spot on “Thursday Night Football,” but, if the Kelces brought their podcast under the Amazon umbrella, it could be part of a bigger deal. Kelce does have a pre-existing relationship with Amazon after his documentary with his wife, Kylie, appeared on the platform.
For a center, Kelce is a very unique position to be sought after. Networks could look at Jason as a one-two-punch acquisition with the idea of adding Travis whenever he retires. [The Athletic]
Whoever gets him, if they can get him, will probably have instant must-see TV, in one major market at least.
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