Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce announced his retirement from the National Football League (NFL) in a 40-minute speech at the Eagles facility on Monday after 13 seasons, The US Sun reported.
The Eagles’ former center was accompanied by his mom Donna, dad Ed, brother Travis, and wife Kylie watching on from the front row.
Jason Kelce broke down shortly after taking a seat.
“Thanks for coming guys,” he said as he prepared to kick off.
“Let’s see how long this lasts…” at which point the tears began.
“Not a good start, there we go,” Jason then joked.
However, after 36 minutes of anecdotes and tributes, he finally delivered the words everyone was waiting for, which some may have been dreading.
“And so this all brings us here to today, where I announce that I am retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles,” Jason said, doing his best to hold back further tears.
“And today, I must admit, I am officially overrated. Vastly overrated. But f**k, it took a lot of hard work, and determination getting here.”
Jason, a Cincinnati sixth-round draft pick in 2011, with 193 Philly appearances has been named a “First-Team All-Pro” six times and a Pro Bowler seven times, despite numerous injuries.
He has not missed a game in nine years.
As for Jason’s future, he admitted he wasn’t sure where life would take him next.
“I don’t know what’s next,” he said.
“But I look forward to the new opportunities and challenges that await. And I know that I carry with me the lessons from my time here. And that forever we shall all share the bond of being Philadelphians. That’s all I got.”
