Jason Kelce to Announce Decision About NFL Retirement at Monday Press Conference

Jason Kelce’s decision on the future of his pro football career comes today.

The question of whether Kelce, 36, will retire after last NFL season has been a hot topic since his last game on Jan. 15, but the Philadelphia Eagles star has yet to make an official announcement. Kelce announced on Twitter Monday morning that he will let the world know if he will play football again this fall at 1:00 PM ET this afternoon.

“No Keg video this year, I’ve made a decision and I’ll address the press conference this afternoon,” longtime Eagles center chirped. Tweet references fake video the team announced after last season in which Kelce drank beer and announced he would retire from hosting a local radio show, not the NFL.

Kevin Sabitus/Getty

A number of fans began responding to Kelce’s tweet with thanks and congratulations on his 13-year NFL career, jumping to the assumption that he would announce later Monday that his playing days were officially over. Selected in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Kelce won one Super Bowl with Philadelphia in 2018 and was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl seven times during his award-winning career – including each of the last five seasons.

Jason Kelce says he’ll make retirement decision in next few weeks: ‘I’m still figuring it out’

Jason Kelce.

Perry Knotts/Getty

Kelce and the Eagles started 10-1 last season and were considered Super Bowl favorites after winning the NFC championship the year before and losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, where Kelce’s younger brother Travis Kelce plays.

Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce.

Cooper Neill/Getty

However, the Eagles’ hot streak petered out late in the season, losing five of their last six games to finish the year with an 11-6 record. Philadelphia lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 32-9 in the first round of the NFL playoffs in January. Cameras showed an emotional Kelce hugging his longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland during the final play of the game.

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Soon after, the 13-year veteran ran toward the stands to find his family, sharing another emotional hug with wife Kylie and a handshake with his father, Ed Kelce, who had traveled to Florida to be there for the game.

Both the NFL and ESPN reported that Kelce told his Eagles teammates after the game that he plans to retire. However, Kelce remained tight-lipped about his decision after the game and in the months since.

Jason Kelce smiles with wife Kylie and their three daughters in an adorable family photo at the Pro Bowl

Jason Kelce.

Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Kelce has long openly contemplated retirement, including a harrowing scene in his Kelce documentary on Prime Video last fall in which he admits that “it’s getting harder and harder to play.”

At the end of January, said Kelce Philadelphia Inquirer that he still plans to stay involved with the Eagles organization in some way, even if he’s not on the field.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with me, but I know that I still want to be involved in the organization and that I still want to be a part of it – regardless of the decision,” he told the newspaper. Because I don’t ever want to feel like I’m out there looking at these accomplishments and these accolades and these opportunities that pretty much represent entire cities and fan bases and organizations.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education