On March 4, NFL player Jason Kelce made news by declaring he was officially retiring from the league, breaking his silence over the retirement rumours. At a press appearance, he said, “This all brings us to today, where I announce that I’m retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.” Later, Kelce acknowledged that it was not an easy choice on the “New Heights” episode that aired on March 6. “Obviously, I’ve debated retiring for the last few seasons,” he said. “It was nerve-racking getting to that day, but a lot of the things that I said and shared are things that I’ve wanted to share for a long time. And you wait for the moment where it feels right to do it.”
Not even his brother, fellow football player Travis Kelce, can dispute Jason’s remarkable and prosperous football career. Travis waxed lyrical about his brother’s accomplishments on the podcast episode on March 6. “Seven Pro Bowls, six first-team all-pro seasons, 193 total games… 156 consecutive starts… and a Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles,” Travis said. Unfortunately, there have been some dark clouds in Jason’s life. The sad reality about Jason Kelce is as follows.
The preschool expelled Jason Kelce.
Though he may have a lot of fans, Jason Kelce is by no means a golden kid. According to the account, he was immediately expelled from his preschool after getting into a brief physical altercation with sporks in the lunchroom that went too far. On a “New Heights” episode, he recounted the incident: “I just remember the next day, his dad had him under his arm, and he had four little spork dots.” Ouch!
Regretfully, Jason would run into problems again after getting into a physical argument. Jason takes matters into his own hands in August 2023 during a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts after witnessing one of his own, Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell, repeatedly get pummeled by Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin. Following an all-out brawl that left Franklin on the ground, practice was called off. Jason issued a public apology for his behavior after the incident. “We try and keep things civil on the field, and I pride myself on being a guy that sustains the emotions and level of play out there, and I let my emotions get the better of me,” Jason confessed. “That certainly doesn’t belong out there on the field, and a little ashamed that it got to that level.”
The parents of Jason Kelce divorced.
Many people still view Jason Kelce and his wife Kylie Kelce’s marriage as ideal. Jason’s parents’ marriage, however, didn’t work out as well. Following the graduation of both Jason and Travis Kelce from college, Ed and Donna Kelce made the decision to end their nearly 25-year marriage. Ed said it was a conscious choice to wait to divorce until his sons were adults. “If we had split as we probably both would have preferred, that would have been a nightmare with the logistics, getting kids where they had to be and providing all the support,” he said in the 2023 “Kelce” document.
Jason, however, doesn’t think his parents did anything wrong. In fact, he is appreciative. Jason attributed this particular perspective to becoming a father himself in the “Kelce” documentary. “I think I told my mom after Wyatt was born, maybe the first year, I was like, ‘I’m sorry. I had no idea what you guys were actually sacrificing and doing on a daily basis for us,'” he said.
Football star Jason Kelce sustained serious injuries.
There’s no denying that playing football has the potential to cause some quite serious injuries. Jason Kelce, regrettably, is all too aware of that. When his knee was trodden on during an especially rough game against the Baltimore Ravens, Kelce tore both his MCL and a portion of his ACL.Although Kelce remained out of the game for the remainder, the Eagles won. “I think that made [the injury] more frustrating for me, especially watching the offensive line struggle the way that they did,” he said afterwards.Thankfully, he was certain that he had fully recovered after a full year of recuperation. “The knee feels great … [it] has actually been feeling really good,” he said.
But Kelce also disclosed in 2019 that he truly played through a torn elbow, a damaged MCL, and a broken foot in 2018. “Every year, you sustain bumps and bruises.You may play through them as long as it doesn’t hurt the team or your general health,” he said at a media briefing for the offseason program.
Jason Kelce’s younger brother defeated him in the Super Bowl.
The Kelce brothers faced off in the 2023 Super Bowl, unless you’ve been living under a rock. Ultimately, the Kansas City Chiefs and Travis Kelce were the winners. Jason Kelce spoke about the bittersweet loss during his NFL retirement speech. “I won’t forget falling short to the Chiefs, and the conflicting feeling of immense heartbreak I had selfishly for myself and my teammates, and at the same time, the amount of pride I had that my brother had climbed the mountaintop once again,” Kelce said.
It seems, nevertheless, that Jason is accustomed to losing to his younger brother. In a 2018 interview for NFL Films, Jason joked about their fraternal dynamic, saying, “Two-year age difference, so growing up, in typical younger brother fashion, Travis found all the other ways to get the upper hand — and that was the most annoying thing ever.”
Jason Kelce was the “underdog” at all times.
Football has always been
Jason Kelce’s passion. Without a doubt, though, he had to put in a lot of effort to play professionally and at the university levels. According to legend, Kelce just strolled onto the University of Cincinnati football squad. “I had to earn everything, which was good because I had no idea what hard work was until that point,” Kelce said of the experience in his well-known NFL retirement speech on March 4. “I had no stars, no investment from the team or the coaches.”
Unfortunately, he carried that same mindset into the NFL. In the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Jason Kelce. Strangely, at that point, the Eagles had no idea how to spell Kelce’s name.The team tweeted in celebration, saying, “The #Eagles select C Jason Kelsey from Cincinnati with the 191st pick!”
But Kelce enjoys being the “underdog.” In his iconic NFL farewell address, he said, “I have been the underdog my entire career, and I mean this when I say it: I wish I still was.” That’s not all, though. Additionally, Kelce designed a whole apparel brand called “Underdog Apparel.” The entire earnings are given to the (Be)Philly Foundation in order to support their many youth programs in Philadelphia. The tagline? “No one’s hungry like an underdog.”