The Philadelphia Eagles have shared an emotional video paying tribute to Jason Kelce after he announced his retirement from football.
An emotional Kelce broke down in tears at a press conference Monday as he hung up his cleats after 13 sensational years in the NFL.
With his brother Travis, wife Kylie and parents Ed and Donna watching, Kelce took 45 minutes to look back on his career and thank those who helped him reach the top of football.
The center was drafted by Andy Reid and the Eagles in 2011 and spent his entire career in Philadelphia, winning the Super Bowl with them in 2018.
Following his announcement on Monday, the franchise posted a touching video, nearly seven minutes long, on social media to honor his legendary career.
The Philadelphia Eagles have published an emotional tribute to Jason Kelce after his retirement
It includes footage of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie praising Kelce’s personality and leadership.
There’s a clip of Kelce’s famous parade speech dressed as one of the Philadelphia Mummers.
He also broke down in tears when interviewed after the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
It includes footage of Andy Reid, who drafted Kelce, talking to the center at a game.
There are plenty of clips of Kelce giving motivational speeches to his Eagles teammates.
It begins with footage of Kelce’s last NFL play — in their wild-card round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs — before moving on to his first after being drafted in 2011.
The tribute includes many motivational lines from Kelce taken from his famous team speeches throughout his career.
There’s footage from arguably the best day of Kelce’s career: the Eagles’ Super Bowl win.
It includes the iconic ‘Philly Special’ play that allowed Nick Foles to score a touchdown and then segues into Kelce’s famous parade speech dressed as one of the Philadelphia Mummers.
There are also images of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie paying tribute to Kelce. In it he says, “This guy, Jason, represents everything that’s great about the Philadelphia Eagles.”
“He’s an incredible leader, a teammate, a proven winner, a fan favorite, but also like no other athlete we’ve ever had or rarely seen in the city: someone who truly captures the essence of who he is. be a citizen of Philadelphia.
“Not only does everyone on the Eagles love you, but to me you are exactly what an athlete in Philadelphia should be.”
The clip also shows Eagles owner Lurie praising Kelce for his charitable work off the field.
He can be seen kissing his wife Kylie on the field after a game and telling her, “I love you.”
Brother Travis plants a kiss on Jason’s face after one of their many battles during their careers.
Kelce hugs one of his daughters while recording his hit podcast New Heights with his brother Travis.
He also praises Kelce’s work off the field and his charitable work in the city of Philadelphia, particularly with the Eagles Autism Foundation.
There’s more footage of Kelce talking about the coaches he played for before moving on to more inspirational speeches before and during games.
It then shows Kelce as a husband, father and brother. He has been seen kissing his wife Kylie, playing with her young daughters and then hugging Travis on the field after one of his games.
The touching video ends with Kelce saying, “I didn’t look back and say, ‘I’m going to play this long,’ but I think perseverance is something you have to have and other than that, I’ve just been lucky and fortunate to play the well enough and stay healthy enough to play for a long time.”
Kelce broke down in tears before he even started speaking and finally put an end to months of speculation when he ended his career on Monday after 13 years in the NFL.
It took him 45 minutes to recount his career from his childhood in Ohio to his final days with the Eagles amid tears, laughter and many thanks to his biggest influences before he finally announced he was retiring.
“I’ve been the underdog my entire career,” he said. “And I mean it: I still wish I was.”
Kelce announced his retirement from football in an emotional press conference this Monday
Kelce had to pause his speech to take a deep breath as he struggled to control his emotions.
Travis began to cry as he watched his brother speak, sitting next to his parents.
An emotional Kelce struggled to get his words out, pausing regularly for long periods and his voice breaking as he tried to hold back tears.
Speculation first arose that Kelce would hang up his cleats when the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January.
However, he declined to announce a final decision about his future in the following weeks, instead supporting his brother Travis throughout the postseason when the Kansas City Chiefs finally won the Super Bowl.
Kelce was on the verge of retiring this time last year, but decided to stay on for one more season after struggling to walk away, a process that was captured in his hit Amazon Prime documentary.
Kelce finished his career making 156 consecutive starts and earned six Totally professional team selections. He played 193 regular season games for the Eagles.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to play my entire career in one city,” Kelce said. “I couldn’t have dreamed anything better if I’d tried.”
