Professional football player Jason Kelce made headlines on March 4, when he broke his silence on the retirement rumors and announced that he was officially retiring from the NFL. “This all brings us here to today, where I announce that I’m retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles,” he tearfully declared during a press conference. Kelce later admitted during the March 6 episode of “New Heights” that the decision was not an easy one. “Obviously, I’ve debated retiring for the last few seasons,” he revealed. “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.”
No one can deny that Jason has enjoyed a successful and illustrious football career — including his brother, fellow footballer Travis Kelce. “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 gushed about his brother’s accomplishments during the March 6 podcast episode. Alas, Jason’s life hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine. Here’s the tragic truth about Jason Kelce.
Jason Kelce was kicked out of preschool
Jason Kelce might be beloved by many, but he’s certainly no golden boy. The story goes that he was promptly 86’d from his preschool after an innocent lunchroom game of sparring with sporks went a little too far. “I just remember the next day, his dad had him under his arm, and he had four little spork dots,” he recalled about the incident during an episode of “New Heights.” Yikes!
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last time Jason would find himself in trouble following a physical altercation. In August 2023, during a joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts, Jason took matters into his own hands after watching one of his own, Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell, continuously getting hammered by Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin. Jason took Franklin to the ground, an all-out brawl ensued, and the practice was canceled. Following the events, Jason publicly apologized for his actions. “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.”
Jason Kelce’s parents got divorced
So far, Jason Kelce’s marriage to his wife, Kylie Kelce, is considered to be goals for many. Sadly, Jason’s parents’ marriage didn’t pan out quite as well. After almost 25 years of marriage, Ed and Donna Kelce decided to call it quits after both Jason and Travis Kelce graduated from college. According to Ed, the decision to wait to split until their sons were grown was a deliberate one. “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 explained in the 2023 “Kelce” doc.
Still, Jason doesn’t consider his parents guilty of any wrongdoing. He’s actually grateful. In the “Kelce” documentary, Jason cited becoming a father himself for this particular mindset. “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.
Jason Kelce suffered major football injuries
It’s no secret that playing football can lead to some pretty serious sports injuries. Sadly, Jason Kelce knows that all too well. During a particularly brutal game against the Baltimore Ravens, his knee was stepped on, and Kelce tore not only his MCL but part of his ACL as well. The Eagles took home the W, but Kelce was sidelined for the rest of the game. “I think that made [the injury] more frustrating for me, especially watching the offensive line struggle the way that they did,” he later recalled. Fortunately, after an entire year of rehabilitation, he was confident that he had made a full recovery. “The knee feels great … [it] has actually been feeling really good,” he declared.
In 2019, however, Kelce also revealed that in 2018 he actually played through a broken foot, a torn elbow, and a torn MCL. “You have dings and bruises every year. As long as it’s not detrimental to the team and your overall health, you can play through them,” he maintained during an offseason program media conference.
Jason Kelce lost the Super Bowl to his little brother
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the Kelce brothers went head-to-head in the 2023 Super Bowl. In the end, it was Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs who emerged victorious. “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,” Jason Kelce recalled about the bittersweet loss during his NFL retirement speech.
It appears, however, that losing to his kid brother isn’t exactly new territory for Jason. “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 jokingly lamented about their brotherly dynamic during a 2018 interview for NFL Films.
Jason Kelce was always the ‘underdog’
Jason Kelce has always loved playing football. But make no mistake, he had to work really hard to play at the collegiate and professional levels. The story goes that Kelce walked onto the football team at the University of Cincinnati. “I had no stars, no investment from the team or the coaches; I had to earn everything, which was good because I had no clue what hard work was until that point,” Kelce recalled about the experience during his famous NFL retirement speech on March 4.
Alas, that same mentality followed him all the way to the NFL. In 2011, Jason Kelce was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles during the sixth round. Ironically, the Eagles didn’t even know how to spell Kelce’s name at that time. “The #Eagles select C Jason Kelsey from Cincinnati with the 191st pick!” the team fired out in a celebratory tweet.
Kelce, however, relishes his ‘underdog’ status. “I have been the underdog my entire career, and I mean this when I say it: I wish I still was,” he declared in his memorable NFL exit speech. But that’s not all. Kelce also created an entire clothing line aptly titled “Underdog Apparel.” All of the proceeds are donated to (Be)Philly Foundation to help fund various programs for the youth of Philadelphia. The slogan? “No one’s hungry like an underdog.”
