Jason Kelce’s legacy extends far beyond the football field.
As he announced his retirement from the NFL after 13 seasons on Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles center, 36, gave a moving speech — but also shared an emotional moment with longtime friend Eagles coach Joe O’Pell backstage.
O’Pella missed the star’s final game “due to cancer,” which was diagnosed during Kelce’s final season, the coach shared in an Instagram post Tuesday. O’Pella wrote that he was disappointed he couldn’t care for Kelce in his final moments as an Eagle.
Jason Kelce thanks wife Kylie for giving him ‘Three beautiful girls’ as he announces NFL retirement
O’Pella filmed Kelce’s ankles and thumbs “every day for 13 seasons,” and didn’t know the Jan. 15 playoff game would be the center’s last, he said. So he “expressed my regret that he wasn’t the last person to ever film him” — and Kelce had a solution.
Although he would only be sitting in a chair on stage and not taking the field for a game or practice, the Eagles center asked O’Pell to film him one last time for his final press conference.
“That’s the way he is,” the coach wrote.
In addition to the emotional end to their coaching-playing journey together, O’Pella also shared more about his and Kelce’s 13-season friendship — accompanied by a series of photos of the duo over the years.
“I remember back in Jason’s sophomore year, when he blew out his knee, I went to the head coach and told him I needed to do his rehab because he needed to be treated like an athlete, not a conventional hitter,” O’Pella wrote. “What would happen over the next 12+ years would certainly affect my life in ways I could never have imagined.”
Jason Kelce tearfully recalls meeting wife Kylie at NFL retirement speech: ‘Aura around her’
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Jason Kelce.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
He continued: “You all know of the achievements on the field, as well as many off the field, but what this man has meant to me and now to my family over the past decade plus is almost beyond words. From being his ‘corner’ at the Wing Bowl, to hours-long rehab sessions followed by nights out on the town, to sleeping on each other’s couches to hosting each other’s weddings, to Sea Isle City Polar Bear Plunges to performing at the Super Bowl and the ring, we were there doing it together.”
“And in his last season, when I was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation and chemotherapy, he offered his beach house if I needed to escape, and he offered to pay for my meal service to help my wife and I,” he wrote, “and he called me randomly when I was at home, too sick to come before chemo, just to check on me and talk about random things.”
“That’s the way he is as a person,” he added.
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Jason Kelce hugs Travis Kelce after his retirement press conference.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
After sharing his memories, O’Pella wrote that he hoped “these stories can add to an already incredible legacy.”
“Congratulations to the entire Kelce family on a Hall of Fame career on and off the field,” he added. “To Kylie’s husband; Wyatt, Elliotte and Bennett’s dad; Eagles center; A Philadelphia icon and my brother: Jason, congratulations on your retirement and I wish you the best for the future. I love you.”
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