The former NFL star says he’s not going anywhere as he embarks on his new career as an analyst on ‘Monday Night Countdown’
Jason Kelce’s not leaving the nest.
During ESPN’s Media Day 2024 on Wednesday, Aug. 28, the former Philadelphia Eagle’s center opened up about his family’s plans now that he’s retired from the NFL, and why he’s so connected to the city that he knows and loves.
“You spend so much time as a player being on the field with the fans,” Kelce told a room of press, including PEOPLE, at ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Conn. “I was fortunate, I was in Philadelphia for 13 years and the community is where my wife and I live.”
“We want to keep living in Philadelphia,” the retired player says of his wife Kylie, with whom he shares three young daughters Wyatt, Elliotte and Bennett. Kelce and Kylie have been married since 2018 — and even tied the knot in Philly!
The couple have given fans a few glimpses inside their home, showing off their girls’ cozy playroom, which they redecorated with help from Pottery Barn Kids. “The memories that we’re creating now are things that we’ll talk about later, the same way our parents tell stories about us now,” Kylie shared with PEOPLE. “We hope that this space allows for the girls to be a good team together.”
Even the space’s color palette has that team spirt: “Shockingly enough we are big fans of green,” Kylie joked, giving a nod to her husband’s former uniform.
Their garage, which they formerly called the “Kelce landfill,” also got a full tidying up thanks to a recent partnership with The Container Store. “You would open the door, throw something in, and close it,” Jason told PEOPLE exclusively in May. “We couldn’t ever find anything and now it is an actual functional space.”
As the start of the 2024 NFL season approaches, Kelce is returning to the football scene in a different way. He has been signed by ESPN to join Monday Night Countdown as a pre-game analyst in a multi-year agreement.
The 13-year NFL veteran will sit behind the desk from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET each week leading into Monday Night Football throughout the regular season and ESPN’s Super Wild Card and Divisional Round playoff games. He will also take part in ESPN’s Super Bowl studio coverage each year.
Among the most anticipated — and bittersweet — games he’ll be covering? The Philadelphia Eagle’s home opener against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 on Sept. 16.
“Being at the tailgate in Philadelphia is going to be hard for me. I’m looking forward to participating in tailgates for the first time in a long time outside of Buffalo this past year,” he says in reference to his headline-making antics ahead of the memorable (shirt-removing) Bills’ game on Jan. 21, 2023.
Nonetheless, Kelce — who also just inked a $100 million deal with Amazon for his New Heights Podcast with his brother, Travis Kelce — says the first Eagles home game “is going to be wild.” He adds, “It’s going to be fun to be back there, Week 2…I’m looking forward to being home.”
The first-year analyst — who undoubtedly doubles as a Philly fan — isn’t just talking about the game, making sure to mention the tailgate excitement ahead of kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET. “It’ll be a very fun experience to be out there.”
“I think we’re doing it Xfinity Live,” he says of the Monday Night Countdown broadcast venue. “Which is in the parking lot… a bold decision, ESPN.”
During Kelce’s ESPN Media Day panel, he joined long-time Alabama head coach-turned-sportcaster Nick Saban and host Laura Rutledge for a Q&A session while also taking questions from the press and opened up about his duties as the dad of three little girls.
“I’m dancing with my girls every single day, it seems like,” he told the room of his daughters. “Whether it’s on the TV or I just got to keep them occupied and get them up off the couch,” he says they’re always moving and grooving to something.”
“Wyatt, she’ll dance to anything,” Kelce said of his eldest daughter. “Benny’s my favorite one to dance with right now because she’s in that toddler stage where she kind of looks like she’s just drunk all the time and wobbling around. Not too sure of herself. It’s a lot of fun.”
