Jason Kelce would seem to have a dilemma going into Super Bowl LIX with this year’s game featuring his favorite team and favorite player.
The NFC will be represented by the Philadelphia Eagles, the team for which Kelce played all 13 of his NFL seasons before retiring last offseason to become an ESPN analyst.
The AFC will be represented by the Kansas City Chiefs, the team for which Kelce’s brother and “New Heights” podcast co-host Travis Kelce has played for the last 12 years.
So what’s a Philadelphia legend who is very close with one of Kansas City’s biggest stars to do?
It’s actually pretty simple: He’s going to root for both his former team and his little brother at the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Jason Kelce addressed the matter Wednesday on this week’s “New Heights” episode.
“Obviously you’re my brother. I’ll always root for my brother,” he said. “That’s the reality of it. Even though I’m decked out in Eagles gear, I’m always gonna root for Travis.”
Travis Kelce responded: “Take that, Philly!”
“Yeah, but,” Jason Kelce continued, “there’s a lot of people in the Philadelphia organization whether it’s players, coaches or other people in the building that feel like extended family to me. Especially my former linemen. Like, Lane Johnson feels like a brother in a lot of ways.”
Travis Kelce said: “I respect that.”
“I’m rooting for those guys, too,” Jason Kelce said. “I’m rooting for Philadelphia and I’m rooting for Travis Kelce. That’s the reality of it. No matter what on game day, I’m gonna be happy for one of those sides. And I’m gonna be sad for the other side.”
A sixth-round pick in 2011, Jason Kelce was named the Eagles’ starting center out of training camp and never looked back. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and played in two Super Bowls with the team — a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII following the 2017 season and a 38-35 loss to his brother and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII following the 2022 season.
An emotional Jason Kelce announced his retirement at the Eagles training facility in March, with an also-emotional Travis Kelce in attendance. On a “New Heights” episode later that month, Jason Kelce first addressed the possibility of an Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl for the upcoming season.
“I will root for the Eagles, of course, because I will always be an Eagle first and foremost,” Jason Kelce said. “I’ll also root for Travis to have a good game, of course, ‘cause he’s my brother. But, no, I’ll definitely be cheering on the Eagles.”
Now that the matchup has become a reality, he hasn’t softened on his pro-Eagles stance.
“I live in Philadelphia. I still go to the facilities on a very regular basis,” Jason Kelce said. “I still feel like I am a Philadelphia Eagle and that I’m a part of all of these people that root and cheer on our team. … I would be lying if I said I don’t want the Eagles to win, you know what I mean? I want them to.”
But now he also seems to want more for his 35-year-old brother than just having a good game.
“But I also want Travis Kelce to win,” Jason Kelce, 37, said. “So that’s a long-winded way of saying I just want to see a good football game and whoever wins I’m gonna be happy for that guy.”
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