Jason Kelce Shares Details of "Full Circle" New TV Job
Originally appeared on E! Online
Jason Kelce is ready to tackle his new role.
The former Philadelphia Eagles center has officially confirmed that he'll be taking on a new role with ESPN as a commentator, appearing each week on Monday Night Countdown, which leads into Monday Night Football. Jason will even be a member of ESPN's Super Bowl studio, offering yearly commentary for the big game.
The 36-year-old's new job comes just over two months after he announced his retirement from the Eagles after 13 seasons. And as he joked, "Turns out, it was a short retirement!"
"I'm excited to join ESPN, and particularly the Monday Night Countdown team," Jason said in a May 14 statement. "ESPN was a consistent presence in our household growing up and the network helped shape who I am and my love of all sports."
He added, "To now appear on that same screen is a full circle moment. And, I mean it's freaking Monday Night Football! and I'm ready for some football."
Jason Kelce and Kylie Kelce's Cutest Family Photos
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Plus, ESPN's parent company Disney said additional opportunities will also be explored with Jason.
In the announcement, ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus praised Jason for his "strong connection to fans" and being "highly respected" in the sport.
"Walking off the field and immediately to ESPN," the exec said in a statement, "viewers will benefit from his perspective which has been shaped through his years as an established locker room leader and a future Hall of Fame center."
Jason—who shares daughters Wyatt, 4, Elliotte, 3, and Bennett, 14 months with wife of six years Kylie Kelce—has talked before about how excited he was to finalize his job with ESPN.
"Throughout the whole process," he said on the May 1 episode of his podcast New Heights, "and meeting and talking to everybody over at ESPN, it became apparent that it was the right fit."
And as his brother Travis Kelce pointed out, ESPN's show SportsCenter "fueled our love for sports," adding, "Because we used to live and die by ESPN on that TV growing up."
To take a deep dive into Jason's life off the field, keep reading.
2015
Jason Kelce doesn't want you to know he met his wife Kylie Kelce on a dating app. Too bad she wasn't afraid to reveal how their relationship began in the Prime Video Kelce documentary.
"Jason won't let me lie about this," Kylie shared. "We met on Tinder."
When Kylie first encountered Jason's profile, she didn't recognize the Philadelphia Eagles center, explaining, "None of his pictures showed Eagles football."
However, after she and her friends thought he looked "kind of familiar," they did what millennial women do best: A Google image search. And when Kylie put a name to the face, she was confident she was being played.
"It can't be him," she remembered thinking, "it's a catfish."
Still, she took a chance. And in 2015, she shared the first photo of the couple on Instagram, writing, "Thank goodness you swiped right too."
2015
While Jason and Kylie ultimately hit it off, their first date didn't go according to the game plan.
"You fell asleep 45 minutes after I got there on the bar table because he was too drunk," Kylie revealed on Jason's New Heights podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother Travis Kelce.
Though he was admittedly "inebriated," Jason said, "I was sober enough to know it was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. It was love at first sight."
Still, Kylie admitted it took her awhile to fully commit to the idea of being in a relationship with a professional athlete.
"I didn’t tell anyone who I was dating," she explained. "The last thing I wanted was to be like, 'I think I’m falling for this guy and then have him be like, 'Oh, I have six other girls waiting,’ which is the stereotype of a football player."
However, in hindsight, Kylie admitted. "It's entertaining that there was any hesitation at all."
"Our dynamic made it so not that I was in a relationship with a professional athlete," she continued, "it was very much that I was in a relationship wth Jason whose profession was football."
August 2017
She said yes! But only after putting up with some of Jason's B.S.
During the Sept. 7 episode of the New Heights podcast, the couple shared their engagement story, which Jason prefaced by admitting he is not a "romantic" person.
The NFL star proposed to Kylie in his car while they were leaving her parents' house.
"I couldn’t figure out how to inconspicuously go back into the house," he explained, "because if I was like, 'Hey I gotta go talk to you dad for a second,’ it would have been very odd of me to say that."
Instead, Jason went with, um, option No. 2: "When we got in the car, I said, 'Ky, I’m sorry but I gotta take a s--t.'"
However, Kylie immediately knew Jason was up to something when he returned minutes later. "He came back out and I said, 'Jason, I know you didn’t just go in there and take a s—t, it usually takes you 20 minutes.'"
Jason then cut the bulls--t and got down to business.
"He said, 'This isn’t the most romantic way to do this,'" Kylie recalled, "and I immediately started crying because I knew what was happening only because he referenced being romantic."
April 2018
Two months after winning his first Super Bowl, Jason added an even more special ring to his collection when he and Kylie tied the knot in Philadelphia.
To celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary, Kylie shared some throwback pictures from their wedding day.
"One year ago today we stood in front of our closest friends and family and vowed our love and commitment to each other," she wrote. "I am so beyond grateful that I get to share my life with this man."
October 2019
The couple welcomed their first daughter, Wyatt Elizabeth Kelce, on Oct. 2. And to celebrate Wyatt's first birthday, Kylie shared several photos from the delivery room on Instagram.
"One year ago this little bug was snuggled up on my chest for her first night out in the world. I will never get tired of your cuddles, Wy," she wrote. "Also, swipe to see what is truly one of my favorite photos in my phone. Mid-push, veins popping out of my head, and the biggest cheesin grin on Jason’s face. Minutes later, we were parents."
March 2021
The Kelces welcomed their second child, daughter Elliotte Rya Kelce, into the world on March 4.
Kylie shared a sweet video of Elliotte to celebrate her six-month birthday, writing, "Full of smiles, laughs, and sweetness."
And, for her first post of 2022, Kylie captioned a photo of Elliotte, "Best thing to come out of 2021."
February 2023
When Jason and Travis faced off against one another at the 2023 Super Bowl, Kylie had a very special guest attending the game with her.
"Kylie's bringing her OB because she's going to be 38 weeks pregnant at the game," Jason said on the podcast. "That could be a super Kelce Bowl. If she has a baby in the stadium, it's officially scripted!"
Travis joked, "We're in The Matrix, there's no f--king way."
February 2023
While Uncle Trav may have won the Kelce Bowl when the Chiefs defeated the Eagles, Jason received an even sweeter prize two weeks later when he and Kylie welcomed their third daughter.
"Yesterday little lady #3 joined us," the couple shared on Instagram. "Bennett Llewellyn Kelce 8lbs. 5oz. and 21inches long."
Their daughter was named in honor of Jason's grandmother through Bennett's middle name, Llewellyn.
"It's Grandma Mary's maiden name," Jason shared on New Heights. "I wanted to honor Grandma Mary, who is now resting in peace. She had a good run."
August 2023
Kylie and all three daughters visited Jason at the Philadelphia Eagles training camp, with the couple sharing pics in a joint Instagram post.
"Here for the Rita's and obstacle courses with dad after practice," the caption read.
Jason's dad skills were on full display in the Kelce documentary on Prime Video, in which Kylie shared her honest thoughts on Jason's retirement.
"I always tell people that no matter what happens with football, how it ends," she said, "I would like him to retire when he's still able to get down on the floor and play with our kids comfortably."
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