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Jason Kelce is apparently in a position to hold up his soccer helmet for just right.
Kelce, 36, and the Philadelphia Eagles misplaced to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32-9 of their wild card recreation on Monday, January 15. NFL insider Adam Schefter reported at some point after the staff’s emotional defeat that Kelce knowledgeable his fellow Eagles within the locker room that he’s retiring after 13 years within the league.
Because the clock ran out on Monday night time, Kelce was once noticed having a look glum at the sideline. “That looks like a man filled with emotion,” an announcer mentioned all through the printed. “You wonder if that’s it for 36-year-old Jason Kelce.”
Kelce chatted with offensive line trainer Jeff Stoutland and seemed as much as the stands, the place his spouse, Kylie Kelce, seemed similarly crushed with emotion. A teary-eyed Jason walked over to the gang, shaking dad Ed Kelce’s hand after the sport.
On the planet of sports activities, 2023 was once the 12 months Swifties embraced soccer, Kim Kardashian put athletes in Skims and Ali Krieger channeled her inside Beyoncé. Whilst Patrick Mahomes earned the NFL MVP award, Corey Seager and the Texas Rangers received the International Collection and the Denver Nuggets took house the NBA Championship trophy, Us Weekly […]
Jason, who has one Tremendous Bowl ring below his belt, prior to now admitted he was once making an allowance for retiring all through a dialog with The NFL Record’s Steve Wyche and James Palmer in December 2023.
“We took on a lot last year, and it ended up working out really, really well for Travis [Kelce] and I at the end of the season, although we did come up one game short,” Jason mentioned, relating to Tremendous Bowl LVII, the place the Kansas Town Chiefs reigned victorious over the Eagles. “You know, I think it is a lot, and I think the way we’ve justified it as a family is that this is going to be over pretty soon here.”
He endured, “If it’s this year, which it very well could be, we want to make sure that we’re ready to go when football is done, and with all of these different opportunities and things, to figure out what it is we want to do with our retirement. And then on top of that, just enjoy the last time you have left with the guys you have.”
Months after the Tremendous Bowl LVII loss, Jason admitted the sport’s end result “played a factor” in his resolution to step at the box once more.
“I don’t think it should. I wish it didn’t,” he mentioned at the “Rich Eisen Show” in April 2023. “But I do think that when you go that far and get that close and it doesn’t happen, I think your emotions and energy get going, and you want to do that.”
Jason prior to now were given candid about retirement within the High Video documentary Kelce, the place he confessed that it was once “getting harder and harder to play” with every passing 12 months.
“There have been little things that are not big things yet but are going to turn into big things the longer I play,” he mentioned.
Since he was once decided on via the Philadelphia Eagles within the 6th spherical of the 2011 NFL Draft, Jason has confronted his fair proportion of accidents. In 2012, he tore his MCL and suffered a partial tear to his ACL. In 2018, he performed via 3 all through the season — together with a Grade 2 MCL sprain and accidents to his foot, elbow and shoulder.
Jason’s spouse, Kylie, additionally weighed in on her husband stepping again from the sport all through the Kelce documentary, announcing, “I don’t think that people realize the beating you’re taking then impacts the way you interact with your family.”
Kylie, 31, theorized that the timing of Jason’s retirement may align smartly with the beginning in their 3rd daughter, Bennett, 10 months, who they welcomed after the 2023 Tremendous Bowl — however her husband went directly to play any other season with the Eagles. (The pair additionally proportion daughters Wyatt, 4, and Elliotte, 2.)
Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce have an enviable sibling bond stuffed with beef up, laughter and, after all, soccer. Because the brothers have discovered good fortune within the NFL, they've shared glimpses in their courting off the sector. Their circle of relatives even served as inspiration for Travis’ Saturday Evening Are living monologue, which he hosted for the primary […]
“I always tell people, no matter what happens with football, how it ends, I would like him to retire when he is still able to get down on the floor and play with our kids comfortably,” Kylie, who gave beginning to Bennett not up to two weeks after Tremendous Bowl LVII, defined.
When talking with retired Eagles participant Connor Barwin within the Kelce documentary, Jason mentioned he’s “fearful” about what may occur to his frame after he retires, particularly Power Hectic Encephalopathy (CTE).
“I have two girls, and some people end up getting CTE, some guys live long healthy lives, I have no idea what’s gonna happen,” Jason mentioned. “The way I’ve rationalized it to myself is, nobody’s guaranteed tomorrow, nobody’s guaranteed years in advance.”
He endured, “If I get CTE and can’t interact with my grandkids, I would still say playing 12 years in the NFL, making my family prosperous, and being an influential member of the city of Philadelphia is a good trade-off.”
All over his 13 years with the Eagles, Kelce compiled an excellent resume. Within the 2011 season, he become the primary rookie to start out all 16 video games in his place. He was once additionally named to 6 Professional Bowl groups, 5 All-Professional 1st groups and has been featured 5 occasions at the NFL Best 100 record.
Off the sector, he and his circle of relatives have used their platform to assist their philanthropic efforts. All the way through Jason’s time with the NFL, he and Kylie have labored carefully with the Eagles Autism Basis, which raises consciousness and finances for the ones throughout the autism group. Whilst Jason’s involvement with the NFL has come to an finish, Kylie shared that their dedication to the basis will likely be lifelong.
“EAF knows that they can’t get rid of me,” Kylie instructed The Philadelphia Inquirer in January 2023. “Even if I’m not there in an official capacity, I’ll just keep volunteering. Once football is done, but let’s be real, I don’t think football will ever be done. But once Jason is done snapping the football on a regular basis, I can’t see us ever not having a part in EAF. We have that personal connection and we could never step away.”