Jason Kelce’s Contract Makes Him the Highest Paid Center In The League
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His younger brother might be one of the most famous names in the NFL, but Jason Kelce’s contract is nothing to turn your nose up at either. Kelce is a center for the Philidelphia Eagles—the position is the innermost lineman of the offensive line—and at 6′ 3″ and 282 lbs, is a formidable opponent on the field.
Born on November 5, 1987, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Kelce attended Cleveland Heights High School, where he played both football and basketball. There, he was a standout player, and his skills on the football field earned him a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. He became a key player for the Cincinnati Bearcats, helping the UC offense average 27.3 points and 375.3 yards of total offense per game. His brother, Travis, joined the team in 2008. In 2009, Kelce earned second-team All-Big East honors after starting 13 games at left guard as the Bearcats went undefeated in the regular season (12–0) and were again Big East Champions.
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Kelce was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, 191st overall. He quickly became an essential part of the Eagles’ offensive line and has become known for his exceptional athleticism, strength, and football smarts. Jason Kelce’s contract reflects just how valuable he is to the team.
Jason Kelce’s contract
Jason Kelce’s contract was renewed for one year in 2023 at a value of $14.25 million, making him once again the highest-paid centers in the NFL, and has a net worth of approximately $40 million.
When Kelce signed in 2011, he penned a $712,477 deal with the Philadelphia Eagles which lasted until 2014. Then from 2014-2020, he resigned for six years, in a contract that was worth $6,250,000. In the following three-year deal, from 2019-2021, Kelce’s average annual salary was $8,166,667. 2022 and 2023 have featured one-year contracts likely because Kelce is, age-wise, nearing the end of his career—paying him $14 million and $14.25 million respectively.
On Sunday October 15, 2023, Kelce made Eagles history by stepping out onto the field in his 145th consecutive start. “He’s just tough as a shovel, just a tough dude,” his longtime teammate Lane Johnson told Sports Illustrated at the time. “I’ve seen him elbows, braces, knee braces, he’s been nicked up quite a bit throughout his career. But how he takes care of his body is really why he’s played so well for so long.” Johnson continued: “I think a lot of it just goes down to his demeanor. He doesn’t want to miss time or put a backup in and have that affect a team, so I feel like he really takes that to heart.”
The last time Kelce missed a start was Week 8 in 2014. “That’s big,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “I haven’t even really thought about that, didn’t know about that, but he shows up and does what needs to be done to be ready to play. He’s a mentally tough person.”
While Kelce didn’t want to talk about the streak, he did explain what it takes to turn up and physically perform the way he has for eight years. “I’m just older now, so I gotta do more things now to get ready to play,” he said. “When you’re young, you don’t really gotta do much. You just go out there. Still not a big stretching fan, but now I kind of have to … In general, I try to do as little as I can to be at my best. I feel like if I do too much, it’s too much and then I don’t have fun and it’s not too beneficial.”
On The NFL Report podcast on October 27, Kelce at age 35 did talk about the possibility of retirement. “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,” Kelce said. “If it’s this year, which it very well could be, we want to make sure that we’re ready to go when football’s done, and we’re looking at all these different opportunities and things to figure out what it is we want to do in retirement.”
Jason Kelce vs Travis Kelce’s contracts
Travis Kelce’s contract has a total guaranteed sum of $22,750,000 over four years, so actually Jason earns more per year than his younger brother. In 2021, Travis received a guaranteed roster bonus of $7 million, while in 2022, he earned $2 million of his salary as a guarantee. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the multiple-time Pro Bowler’s net worth is around $30 million.
While that sounds like a lot of money—it is— the combined value of all 32 NFL teams is currently $142.87 billion and football players should be entitled to their fair share of that considering they put their bodies on the line every week.
In a January 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, Kelce joked about how he isn’t paid enough. “My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am,” he said. “Any time I talk about wanting more money, they’re just like, ‘Why don’t you go to the Chiefs and ask them?” The Chiefs are bound by a salary cap and players like All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill have moved elsewhere within the league—in Hill’s case, to the Miami Dolphins.
“When I saw Tyreek go and get 30 [million] a year, in the back of my head, I was like, ‘Man, that’s two to three times what I’m making right now,” he says. “I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in.”
He does think about it from time to time, but his allegiance is to the Chiefs. And to victory. “You see how much more money you could be making and, yeah, it hits you in the gut a little bit. It makes you think you’re being taken advantage of,” Kelce says. “I don’t know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth,” he adds. “But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day.” Kelce also has brand deals with Nike, Old Spice, T-Mobile and Dick’s Sporting Goods, McDonalds, and Papa Johns.
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Is Jason Kelce retiring?
Jason Kelce hasn’t announced his retirement just yet but hinted a decision is coming soon. On the New Heights podcast that he hosts with his younger brother Travis, Jason said: “I don’t know what next year is going to look like with the team. Coaches, players…,” Kelce said. “I just want to make sure everybody knows how much I love and respect and appreciate the effort and energy they put into the year. I know the outcome, Philadelphia, was not acceptable, but I love each and every person in that room.”
He added that he didn’t announce his plans for the NFL next season “on purpose.”
“I just don’t think you’re in a position after a game like that to really make that decision. I just don’t. There’s too much emotion in the moment, there’s too much going down in the moment, to really fully grasp that decision. I’m not trying to be dramatic and continue to draw this thing out, I’m really not,” Kelce said.
“It’s just something that I think, when it’s time to officially announce what’s happening in the future, it’ll be done at in a way that’s definitive and pays respect to a lot of people and individuals that have meant a lot to me and what has led to the career I’ve had,” he said.
“I don’t think that it would be respectful or even accurate to be able to do that right after a game like that. … But, in the future, there will be something said, I guess,” he said.
When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl
For more about the Super Bowl, football fans can check out When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl by Harvey Frommer. The best-selling book delves into the history of the first Super Bowl, which was originally known as the AFL-NFL Championship Game. (The term “Super Bowl” was coined only in its third year.) The debut game, between the winning Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, was played in front of only 61,946 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum—an audience well below the stadium’s capacity. Harvey Frommer, a sports historian and reporter, puts the tale of that momentous game together using oral history, gathered by hundreds of interviews with players, coaches, media and spectators alike.
Remembering The First Super Bowl
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