Jason Kelce knew it was time to hang up his jersey for good when his body couldn’t keep up with his desire to keep playing.
The future Hall-of-Fame center — who announced his NFL retirement Monday after spending his entire 13-season career with the Philadelphia Eagles — explained why his retirement was “a long time coming” in the latest installment of his and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast.
“Obviously I’ve debated retiring the last few seasons,” Jason said after his younger brother complimented his “beautiful” retirement speech, during which he broke down in tears at the Eagles’ facility.
“I think it got to the point where I knew that was what I wanted to do and it was nerve-racking getting to that day. But a lot of the things that I said and shared are things I’ve wanted to share for a long time and you wait until the moment where it feels right to do it.”
Jason explained that he knew it was time to retire when his opinion was all that mattered, compared to previous years where he sought others’ guidance.
He also accepted that his body was too broken down to continue playing at the level he wanted to.
“I think that’s how I knew. In previous years I’d reach out to other guys, like, ‘Hey, how do you know you want to stop playing?’ What do you think?'” he said.
“The reality was, it was more firm than it’s ever been this year that I don’t think physically I can compete at the level that I want to anymore and really compete the way I want to. My elbow and my knees. It’s just gotten to the point where the deterioration and the recovery and that deterioration really hasn’t manifested on gameday yet.
“But I know it’s going to start doing that and I’d really rather not — I’m hard on myself and if I got out there and I’m not the player I want to be, it’ll crush me. I feel very confident in the decision I made. I know it’s time. I’ve had a really good run but that’s the biggest reason why.”
When asked if he feels relieved now that the news is public, the All-Pro center shared that he felt a mix of emotions.
“A lot of those things were notes I’ve complied throughout my career,” Jason said of his speech, which included a trip down memory lane of life-changing moments he experienced in Philadelphia. “I like to take notes on my phone. It felt good to finally get it out there in some ways — and other ways it’s still hard and it hurts. It’s weird … It’s hard to come to grips with the finality of it. I was hoping I said it enough times that I wouldn’t cry as much as I did. I think it’s good to show emotion through it, but I was sobbing before I even started it.”
Jason cried throughout most of his 40-minute speech Monday, with his brother and their parents, Donna and Ed, along with his wife, Kylie, sitting front and center.
“You definitely set the tone for the entire family, especially everyone listening,” said the Chiefs tight end, who was seen crying under his black-tinted sunglasses.
The three-time Super Bowl champ then asked if people in the Eagles’ facility were telling Jason “don’t do it,” referring to retirement.
“At some level people want me to stay there … but at the end of the day, everyone wants what I want at this point,” Jason said. “I think people still want me to play if I want to, but if you don’t want to, you shouldn’t do it and the reality is, I don’t want to do that anymore.
“Sure, there are parts of me that want to there will always be parts of me that want to go out on gameday and play, want to compete, want to be there with your teammates. That stuff will never go away. But the physical portion is at a point that it’s not a desire to continue to do, it’s not something that I think I can do and be happy about it, so it’s over and that’s good.”
As for what’s next?
Jason, who is reportedly being poached for a number of top networks, said he’s excited but nervous for his next chapter.
“It’s certainly terrifying in some ways because I’ve only really played football my whole life, so we have to try and figure something out,” he said. “Luckily this podcast and all of our fans, there are some opportunities right now and that’s great.
“At the end of the day, it’s still a new chapter I’m incredibly excited about what could happen and also nervous about what life is going to look like now.”
A sixth-round pick (No. 191 overall) by the Eagles in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati, Jason has six All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowls under his belt.
He won Super Bowl LII in 2018 with the Eagles and helped Philadelphia reach the Super Bowl in February 2023, when he faced Travis and the Chiefs in a 38-35 loss in Glendale, Ariz.
