Eagles' center Jason Kelce gives tearful goodbye
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Jason Kelce enters the next phase of his career. Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
It took Jason Kelce more than a half-hour into Monday's news conference to say the word "retiring" — but everyone in the room knew that's what he was doing when he stepped in front of the cameras and sobbed.
- "Not a good start," managed Kelce, who sported a cutoff muscle shirt and expensive gold watch in his trademark casual style.
Why it matters: After 48 days of anticipation and speculation, the beloved Eagles All-Pro center and "King of South Philly" officially called it a career after 13 seasons in Philadelphia.
- He leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the Eagles' offensive line but an even bigger one in fans' hearts.
Driving the news: Kelce's retirement speech doubled as a love letter to football, a game he said he adored from the minute he donned full pads in middle school.
- He returned to that moment each time he smelled freshly mowed grass, the "most alive and free I had ever felt."
What he's saying: The sport gave him purpose, powering Kelce to unimaginable heights that he never thought possible as an unrecruited walk-on running back at the University of Cincinnati, where he'd later team up with his little brother, Travis.
- "I had no stars, no investment," he said. "I had to earn everything."
What happened: His college career took off after a coach, Paul Longo, approached him about switching to center.
- Despite being undersized for a lineman, Kelce had a standout college career and was selected by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Later, he recalled his agent telling him: "This is your kind of town."
- Kelce, now regarded as a future Hall-of-Famer and one of the game's best centers, went to seven Pro Bowls, was selected All-Pro six times and helped the Eagles win the 2018 Super Bowl.
Flashback: The speech Kelce gave at the Super Bowl parade is among his fondest memories.
- "That wasn't my speech," he said, recalling that he met a woman there who brought the ashes of a dead relative. "It was Philadelphia's."
Two years before, following a tough 2016 season that had some wanting to run him out of town, Kelce endured trade rumors.
- He wouldn't have blamed the Eagles if they shipped him out for a couple of new "washing machines."
But offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland believed in him, and they spent the offseason improving his technique, leverage and footwork.
The bottom line: Kelce echoed Stoutland's words in summing up Philly's ethos.
- "Hungry dogs run faster," he said.
- Success in Philly boils down to one thing: Love Philadelphia "the way you love your brother."