Jason Kelce — six-time first-team All-Pro center of the Philadelphia Eagles and older brother of Kansas City Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce — announced his retirement from the NFL on March 4.
Throughout the live press conference, Jason Kelce spoke with tremendous passion and emotion, delivering a speech that ESPN insider Field Yates immediately labeled “the greatest retirement speech I’ve ever seen” — and many in Philadelphia would probably agree.
Jason Kelce just delivered the greatest retirement speech I’ve ever seen.
Authentic, reflective, appreciative of so many people and the places at every step of his journey.
Build the statue now.
What an all-time great.
Within it, he dedicated a full section to his younger brother Travis and the KC organization.
Jason Kelce just delivered the greatest retirement speech I've ever seen.
Authentic, reflective, appreciative of so many people and the places at every step of his journey.
Build the statue now.
What an all-time great.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 4, 2024
Jason Kelce Shares Touching Story of Unbreakable Bond With Travis Kelce During Retirement Speech
“I won’t forget falling short to the Chiefs,” Jason voiced in between tears, referencing the Eagles’ 2022-23 Super Bowl loss. Overcome by emotion, he had to stop for a moment after beginning this part of the speech, admitting that the presser “could go off the rails” over the next few minutes.
Eventually, the older of the two Kelce brothers ventured onward: “I won’t forget falling short to the Chiefs and the conflicted feeling of immense heartbreak I had selfishly for myself and for my teammates, and at the same time, the amount of pride I had for my brother to climb the mountaintop once again.”
“We have a small family — no cousins, one aunt, one uncle,” the speech went on. “It was really my brother and I our whole lives. We did almost everything together — competed, fought, laughed, cried and learned from each other. We invented games, imagined ourselves as star players of that time. We’d envision making the winning plays day after day on Coleridge Road. We won countless Super Bowls in our minds before ever leaving the house.”
Continuing: “And when we weren’t playing, we were at the other [brother’s] games — butt seated in a lawn chair or bench, a Capri Sun in our hand that mom had packed, cheering during the game and waiting outside afterward to celebrate a victory together or offer encouragement after a defeat. There is no chance I’d be here without the bond Travis and I share. It made me stronger, tougher, smarter and taught me the values of cooperation, loyalty, patience and understanding.”
Jason Kelce concluded that it was “poetic” that he “found [his] career being fulfilled in the City of Brotherly Love,” noting that he already “knew that relationship all too well.”
Travis Kelce’s Reaction to Jason Kelce’s Retirement Speech Goes Viral
Jason Kelce shed several tears while giving this heartfelt retirement speech, and he certainly wasn’t alone in his emotion. Younger brother Travis Kelce was caught wiping away tears during a viral video shared by 94WIP’s Eliot Shorr-Parks on X.
Travis Kelce emotional during Jason Kelce’s retirement press conference.
A beautiful moment to see Jason’s family going through this with him. He is looking at them often throughout the speech #Eagles pic.twitter.com/ieIqxDRGt4
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) March 4, 2024
The Eagles reporter called it “a beautiful moment” between Jason and his family, informing that the focus of the press conference was “looking at [his family] often throughout the speech.” This video already has over 775K views and 26K likes in approximately two and a half hours’ time.
Chiefs Kingdom also came together in praising Jason’s career and send-off.
“Jason Kelce talking about losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl and his relationship with Travis. The amount of respect I have for this man… wow I wasn’t planning on crying this morning but here we are,” one KC fan admitted. “Congratulations on all of your success, Jason Kelce.”
Another Chiefs fan posted: “Congratulations on your retirement @JasonKelce! To say that you are the most beloved non-Chiefs player of the Chiefs Kingdom is an understatement! You will be missed by NFL fans everywhere, and we cannot wait to see you in Canton in that gold jacket!”
Finally, an account named Chiefs Focus said: “Watching Jason Kelce retirement presser was the second hardest thing I’ve watched in all my years around the league. ❤️💯 IM NOT CRYING YOUR CRYING 😭.”
