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Recently retired former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce addressed his reported decision to join ESPN's Monday Night Football coverage during the latest episode of his New Heights podcast alongside his brother and co-host, Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce released on Wednesday (May 1).
“Nothing has been officially inked yet or announced yet but, obviously, there’s been a lot of reports out there about me going to ESPN and I think time will kind of take care of that but it’s a tremendous honor to even be considered to potentially work there,” Jason said.
The former Super Bowl champion's acknowledgement of the reported talks comes days after the Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported that he'd be featured on the Monday Night Football pregame show alongside veteran anchor Scott Van Pelt and fellow former NFL players Ryan Clark and Marcus Spears.
“I did my due diligence, you want to make sure you’re really looking at things, talking to people that are knowledgeable in the industry — neither one of us have ever done something like this. Throughout the whole process, meeting and talking to everyone over at ESPN, it became apparent that it was really the right fit and at the end of the day, something that I’m really, really looking forward to this next phase,” Jason said.
Kelce, 36, officially announced his retirement during a press conference on March 4. The Ohio native is one of the most celebrated players in Eagles history, starting at center in all 193 games of his 13-year NFL career, including the franchise's lone Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl LII, while being selected as a first-team All-Pro six times (2017-19, 2021-23) and Pro Bowler seven times (2014, 2016, 2019-23).
In January, Kelce, spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer's Olivia Reiner while attending the AFC Championship Game in support of his brother and acknowledged that he still hadn't decided on retirement but plans to continue being "involved" in the Eagles organization.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen for me. But I do know, I still want to be involved in the organization and still want to be a part of it, regardless of what the decision is. Because I don’t want to ever feel like I’m on the outside looking in on these achievements and these accolades and these opportunities that largely represent entire cities and fan bases and organizations. It’s too good a feeling to pass up,” Kelce said.
Jason had previously addressed reports that he plans to retire during an episode of his and Travis' 'New Heights' podcast, clarifying that he did address his teammates after the Eagles' Wild Card Round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but hadn't yet made an official decision on his future.
“I didn’t announce what I was doing on purpose, despite, I guess, what’s been leaked to the media,” he said “… 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.”
“When it’s time to officially announce what’s happening in the future, it’ll be done 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, and I don’t think it would be respectful or even accurate to be able to do that right after a game like that,” he added. “Frustrated, I guess, at everything that’s happening, but in the future there will be something said, I guess, but I did address the team and pretty much said the same thing I just said to you, which is I got belief in every single one of you guys, cherish the moments you have in this league, I think it’s kind of the way it went down.”