Jason Kelce explains decision about broadcasting future
Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
It was recently reported that retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce will be part of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” programming this coming season.
Kelce addressed the matter during the latest edition of his “New Heights” podcast released on Wednesday.
“Nothing has been officially inked yet or announced yet but, obviously, there’s been a lot of reports out there about me going to ESPN and I think time will kind of take care of that, but it’s a tremendous honor to even be considered to potentially work there,” Jason told brother and Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, as shared by Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post.
Jason Kelce announced his playing retirement in March and almost immediately was linked with several of the NFL’s media partners. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic noted on March 4 that Jason “could easily commute from his home in Philadelphia” to work pregame shows produced by either NBC or CBS. Marchand also suggested at that time that Amazon could’ve become the exclusive home of the “New Heights” podcast and feature Jason on its “Thursday Night Football” coverage.
Along with adding Jason to its NFL roster, ESPN reportedly plans to have former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick serve as a recurring guest on “ManningCast” alternate “Monday Night Football” broadcasts this fall. Meanwhile, CBS moved on from multiple big-name personalities this spring in a major shakeup of its “The NFL Today” program.
“I did my due diligence,” Jason told Travis. “You want to make sure you’re really looking at things, talking to people that are knowledgeable in the industry — neither one of us have ever done something like this. Throughout the whole process, meeting and talking to everyone over at ESPN, it became apparent that it was really the right fit and at the end of the day, something that I’m really, really looking forward to this next phase.”
Travis recently was named the host of Amazon’s “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” show but won’t be following Jason into a full-time media role quite yet. Earlier this week, Travis and the Chiefs agreed to a new two-year deal.
“I know a lot about football but not a lot about this world, so, that’s just another avenue to continue to expand your knowledge, create relationships, ’cause that’s what this business is all about,” Jason added about his next career step. “That’s what every business is all about. It’s always about the people you interact with, so, really excited.”
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