Jason Kelce has been working on his retirement speech for four years, his wife Kylie said soon after her NFL star husband hung up his shoulder pads from football on Monday.
Kelce’s NFL future had been in doubt since the Eagles lost in the NFC Wild Card Round to the Buccaneers on January 15.
The center told allegedly told his fellow offensive lineman in he was retiring after that playoff loss, which he and brother Travis Kelce denied
Since then, Jason has been seen jumping out of luxury box window and chugging a beer during the Chiefs-Bills Divisional round playoff game, and partying in Las Vegas after Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory.
Kelce is expected to transition to broadcasting, where he’ll likely try to be courted by a few networks, and he’ll be doing it with Kylie by his side.
‘I’ve heard multiple versions over the last four years,’ Kylie told NBC 10. ‘This was a completely different version. I think every year he sort of started from scratch as to what was sitting on the surface. But when he said that he was contemplating retirement “for years”, he meant “for years.”‘
‘I think I was the only one that had heard his speech before we went into it,’ Kylie added. ‘I think it was a perfect summary of 13 years. I always say he’s not from (Philadelphia) but he gets it, so that was the perfect example.’
Jason did say it is no coincidence the best years of his career happened after he met Kylie after an Eagles Christmas party.
‘It of course it made me emotional, it cracks me up that he tries to talk about what he remembers from that night because he was, as I’ve said before, intoxicated,’ Kylie said of he night her and Jason met. ‘It was very very sweet, very kind. It was far too much credit.’
Jason and Kylie met after matching on the dating app, Tinder. Less than an hour into their first meeting, Jason passed out at the bar where they were drinking.
Things obviously improved from there as the couple now has three daughters.
‘The outpouring of love and support is expected because I know who my husband is and the way he has conducted himself and how that has touched the lives of people,’ Kylie continued. ‘But at the same time, it’s still shocking.’