Jason Kelce’s 13-year run with the Philadelphia Eagles gave him multiple career accolades, but it was the team’s role in his meet-cute with wife Kylie Kelce that he’ll always remember.
“I won’t forget the Eagles’ Christmas party in 2014 and heading out afterwards with a bunch of my teammates to Buffalo Billiards where my life would change forever,” Jason, 36, said during his NFL press conference on Monday, March 4, reflecting on his journey with Kylie, 31, before announcing his football retirement. “That night, I’d meet my future wife. I still remember the moment she walked through the door.”
The Eagles center got choked up as he remembered the “first instance” he saw Kylie appear at the bar, saying it is “burned in my retina.”
Jason wiped away tears as he recounted the night for reporters and his family, who were on hand to celebrate his retirement announcement on Monday.
“It was like she glided through the opening, an aura around her. Then she started talking and I thought, ‘Man, is this what love feels like?’” he said of his spouse. “She was beautiful and smart, serious yet playful. I knew it right away.”
Jason explained that Kylie, whom he wed in April 2013, has been an integral part of his career with the Eagles, which lasted 13 seasons.
.@JasonKelce talking about meeting his wife Kylie for the first time.
“Man, is this what love feels like?” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Z1O7NRe0Eg
— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2024
“I think it’s no coincidence that I have enjoyed my best years of my career with Kylie by my side. Every accolade I have ever received has come with her in my life,” he continued. “She has brought the best out of me through love, devotion, support, honesty, intelligence, and of course, a swift kick in the ass from time to time.”
Jason praised Kylie for giving him “three beautiful girls and a life that increasingly brings me more fulfillment off the field than it does on.”
The Super Bowl champion, who shares daughters Wyatt, 4, Ellie, 3, and Bennet, 12 months, gushed: “We’ve had a great run, Ky.”
Jason also gave shout-outs to his mom, Donna Kelce, his dad, Ed Kelce, and his younger brother, Travis Kelce, while discussing his time in the NFL, which began in 2011.
“So, this all brings us here to today,” he said. “Where I announce that I am retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.”
He joked, “And today I must admit, I am officially overrated. Vastly overrated. It took a lot of hard work and determination getting here. I have been the underdog my entire career, and I mean this when I say it, I wish I still was. Few things give me such joy as proving someone wrong.”
Jason, who hinted at his retirement at the end of the 2023 season on several occasions, concluded his message with kind words for his adopted home city.
“It has always been a goal of mine to play my whole career in one city. I couldn’t have dreamt a better one and a better fit if I tried,” he said of Philadelphia. “I don’t know what’s next, but I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities that await, and I know that I carry with me the lessons for my time here and that forever we shall all share the bond of being Philadelphians.”
Kylie, for her part, previously commented on Jason’s possible retirement during a January appearance on Good Morning America.
“I think that whatever he does he’s going to be successful in,” Kylie gushed. “I’m not just saying that because I’m his wife. I think that is his personality.”
