Wearing black team-issued sweats and carrying a leather bag, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce has arrived at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for Monday night’s playoff game with the Buccaneers.
As opposed to his brother, the fashionably adventurous Kansas City Chiefs star, Travis, Jason has preferred to keep things casual on game days, typically wearing sweatpants and t-shirts. Monday on Florida’s gulf coast, Jason didn’t even bother with socks, instead wearing flip flops ahead of the Wild Card round matchup. The 9-8 Buccaneers are hosting the 11-6 Eagles by virtue of winning the NFC South. The Eagles once looked assured of winning the NFC East before losing five of their last six.
Entering the game, there had been some talk that it could be Kelce’s last performance in an Eagles uniform. The 36-year-old father of three has played 13 NFL seasons while missing only a handful of games over that time. And recently, he admitted to reporters in Philadelphia that retirement is approaching, whether he likes it or not. ‘I try to remind guys that I’ve done this, and my dad’s told me this from the moment I started playing football: You step off the curb one day and that could be the end of your career.
‘So you try and approach every game with that mindset. But obviously, the closer and the older you get to that being a realization puts it out in front maybe a little bit more. ‘But obviously that’s not the main thing. The main thing is, you know, going out there and battling with each of the guys in this locker room. ‘No matter how many more years I play or any of us play, this team right now only has one game left and that’s what we’re really focused on.’
Kelce previously admitted to considering retirement after losing last season’s Super Bowl to brother Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs, before announcing on Twitter (now X) in March that he ‘ain’t f***ing done yet!’ But five months later he said when discussing his hectic NFL schedule: ‘I think it is a lot, and I think the way we’ve justified it as a family is this [playing football] is going to be over pretty soon here. 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.’
Regardless of when he retires, the elder Kelce brother will be remembered as one of the best centers of his era, earning All-Pro First Team honors six times and starting for the Eagles in their Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots six years ago. Jason’s life has changed dramatically since Travis entered a relationship with pop sensation Taylor Swift last year, boosting his and his brother’s level of fame significantly.
However, it has been reported that Swift has an awkward relationship with the Eagles star and his wife Kylie. Travis’s brother Jason, and his wife Kylie, have apparently not made the singer feel too welcome and comments made to the media about their relationship have upset Swift, according to Life and Style magazine.
