The 13-year NFL veteran announced his decision to hang up his cleats in a tearful speech on Monday. Jason Kelce is certain about his retirement.
On Wednesday, the former Philadelphia Eagles center who officially announced his decision to retire from the NFL in a 40-minute-long speech on Monday, offered more insight into the emotional experience on the latest episode of his and his brother Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast.
Admitting it was “hard to come to grips with the finality” of his decision, Jason, 36, said of his tearful speech, “I was hoping I’d said it enough times that I wouldn’t cry as much I did. I think it’s good to show emotion through it. I mean I was sobbing before I even started!” he laughed.
Travis, 34, then asked his brother, “Who helped you the most in deciding all this? What was the biggest influence helping you?” to which Jason responded, “Me. And I think that’s how I knew. In previous years I would reach out to other guys like, ‘Hey, how do you know when you want to stop playing?’ ”
“The reality was, it was more firm than it’s ever been this year that I just don’t think physically I can compete at the level I want to anymore and really compete the way I want to,” he continued, adding, “You know my elbow and my knees…”
“It’s just gotten to the point where the deterioration and recovery from that deterioration hasn’t really manifested on game day yet but I know it’s going to start doing that and I’d really rather not,” the professional athlete explained. “I’m hard on myself, and if I go out there and I’m not the player I want to be it will crush me. So I’m very confident in the decision I’ve made. I know it’s time. I’ve had a really good run. But that’s the biggest reason why.”
In his Prime documentary that debuted last year, the toll that the game was taking on his health — and the effect it was having on his young family — was a running theme. The Eagles mainstay and his wife Kylie Kelce share three daughters: Wyatt, 4, Elliotte. 3, and Bennett, 1.
Jason also shared on the podcast that his decision had been “a long time coming” and revealed he had been mulling over whether to retire “for the last few seasons.”
“It was nerve-wracking getting to that day,” he continued of the day he announced his decision publicly. “But a lot of the things that I said and I shared are things I wanted to share for a long time and you wait for the moment where it feels right to do it.
A lot of those things were notes I’ve compiled throughout my career. I like to take notes on my phone so it’s in one place. It felt good to finally get it out there in some ways, and in other ways, it’s still hard and it hurts.” After a “disappointing” end to the Eagles’ season, which concluded when they lost a wild-card playoff game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 32-9, on Jan. 15, Jason’s decision was seemingly etched on his face after the game.
During the final play, Jason embraced his longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Then, the father-of-three choked back tears and searched for his family, including Kylie and dad Ed Kelce in the stands.
