Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Kelce’ on Prime Video, a Feature-Length Documentary Look at Philadelphia Eagles Center Jason Kelce

Jason Kelce has had an incredible career in the NFL. Six Pro Bowl selections, five first-team All-Pro selections, a Super Bowl championship and a big personality have earned him the undying love of Philadelphia Eagles fans. Now, he’s getting the documentary treatment. Kelce, a new feature-length documentary on Amazon Prime Video, follows Kelce through the 2022-23 season as he ponders the final stage of his enviable career.

KELCE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Jason Kelce has done everything anyone could hope to do in an NFL career. Is it time to hang it up? Kelce is part career retrospective, and part near-present-day drama, following Kelce through the 2022-23 season as he considers his aging body and ponders retirement. The film mixes game footage with a heavy dose of interviews, both with Kelce and his family, friends, teammates and coaches. It’s a comprehensive look at a likable player facing down the end of a major phase in his life.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: One of the most compelling stories for an athlete-focused documentary to tell is that of a celebrated star facing down the end of their career. For recent comparisons, Kelce bears a similarity in that regard to Shaun White: The Last Run, which saw the snowboarder contemplating retirement, and McGregor Forever, which did the same for longtime MMA fighter Conor McGregor.

Performance Worth Watching: The most entertaining scenes in Kelce are the ones that see both Jason and Travis Kelce together; they’re both NFL superstars and Super Bowl champions, but they’re also just brothers. At one point, Jason teases Travis about it taking him 12 years to graduate from the University of Cincinnati, and points out that his major was the one “all the guys who weren’t there for school” chose. In a more serious moment, though, we see Jason help Travis through adversity after a failed marijuana test got the younger Kelce kicked off the Bearcats’ team.

Memorable Dialogue: “This is my 12th year, and I play a position where I hit my head on every play. Physically, I’m in good shape. For an average person who’s 35 years old? Not good shape. I’m at the point where I can’t play football without heavy anti-inflammatories, so I know my time is coming to an end. There’s a good chance this is my last season.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: If you don’t understand why Philadelphia fans–notably among the most passionate and emotional fans in American sports–love Jason Kelce, then you’ll understand early on in Kelce, when Kelce–wearing the outlandish costume associated with Philadelphia’s long-running Mummers Parade–delivers a profanity-laced victory speech at the rally celebrating the Eagles’ long-sought-after Super Bowl championship. He gets Philly fans, and they get him.

This moment illustrates what a terrific life in football Jason Kelce has had–from a successful college career with the Cincinnati Bearcats to a long run as one of the top centers in the National Football League, all capped off by the Super Bowl ring (which, in one funny early scene, he rummages around his house unable to find) after the 2017 season. The premise of Kelce is that it follows him through the 2022-23 NFL season–one that sees the Eagles with a strong, revamped roster–as he considers retirement and chases one more championship.

It’s an emotional setup, but it’s also a bit lacking in stakes. That is–it’s easy to root for Kelce to get what he wants, but it’s also easy to see that he’s going to be fine either way. He’s not haunted by an elusive title, and he’s achieved almost everything a professional athlete can ask for. He’s got a happy family life (there’s a funny scene where his wife recalls meeting him on Tinder, and assuming that she was being catfished), and he’s beloved by fans.

Like many single-athlete-focus documentaries, Kelce is structured around interviews–primarily with Kelce himself, but also with family members, friends, teammates and former coaches. There’s plenty of room given to his star sibling–Kansas City Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce, who offers an interesting perspective as someone who both grew up with him and knows what it’s like to compete at the highest level. (Spoiler alert: the 2022-23 season culminates with the two brothers playing against each other in the Super Bowl, the first time two brothers ever did so.)

If you’re an Eagles fan (or, like me, a Cincinnati Bearcats fan), you’ll find a lot to like about Kelce–it’s a well-made documentary on a very-likable figure, a nice coda to a long and successful career. It’s not going to offer a lot to casual fans, unfortunately–there’s not an angle that transcends the sport, and it’s a hard sell to watch a feature-length documentary on a single figure no matter how endearing they are.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Kelce is a nice, well-crafted documentary about a likable figure, but its appeal is probably limited to Eagles fans or truly hardcore NFL fans.

Scott Hines, publisher of the widely-beloved Action Cookbook Newsletter, is an architect, blogger and proficient internet user based in Louisville, Kentucky.