Jason Kelce has hung up his jersey for good.
On Monday, March 4, the Philadelphia Eagles center officially retired from the NFL after 13 seasons.
Jason was the Eagles' sixth-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft. He spent the entirety of his career playing for the beloved Philly team and brought home one Super Bowl ring in 2018 with the organization.
The dad-of-three could hardly begin his retirement speech before sobbing uncontrollably into his hands.
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"Not a good start," the 36-year-old joked, as he was surrounded by his younger brother, Travis, 34, his parents, Ed and Donna, and his wife, Kylie, at a press conference in Pennsylvania.
"I’ve been asked many times, 'Why did I choose football? What drew me to the game?' And I never had an answer that gets it right," Jason admitted. "The best way that I can explain it is, 'what draws you to your favorite song, your favorite book?' It’s what it makes you feel. The seriousness of it. The intensity of it. Stepping onto the field was the most alive and free I had ever felt."
"The hands on my arms would stand up. I could hit somebody, run around like a crazed lunatic, and then get told 'good job,' he quipped.
I won’t forget the call I got from Andy Reid on draft day. And my father rushing into the room with tears streaming down his face because his sons dreams had just been realized. It had just been announced on tv I had been drafted by the Philadelphia eagles. I wont forget two years later, that same man had my brother receiving a call and him being drafted by the Kansas City chiefs. This time the tears streaming down both my father and I ’s face because my brother had just realized his own
I won’t forget my mother becoming mom of the NFL. A representative for all moms out there who have sacrificed so much for their children.
This is where it’s gonna go off the rails. I won’t forget falling short to the chiefs and the conflicted feeling of immense heartbreak I had selfishly for myself and for my teammates. And at the same time, the amount of pride I had that my brother climbed the mountain top once again. We have a small family. No cousins, one aunt, one uncle. It was really my brother and I our whole lives. We did almost everything together. Competed, fought, laughed, cried and learned from each other.
