PHILADELPHIA —

Jason Kelce’s decision about the future of his pro football career has finally and officially arrived.

Nearly two months after news broke that Kelce, 36, planned to retire following a heartbreaking Philadelphia Eagles playoff loss, the future Hall of Fame center held a press conference to formally announce that he was leaving the game of football behind.

Kelce delivered the news in a thoughtful, emotional and tear-packed 40-minute press conference that also served as a love letter to the game of football.

“Let’s see how long this lasts,” Kelce said as he sat down and burst into tears in the media room packed with reporters, Eagles head coach Nick Sirrianni and his family.

You can watch the first half of his epic, lengthy retirement announcement in the video player above. The second half can be watched below.

On Monday morning, Kelce tweeted that he would let the world know at noon whether he’ll play football again this fall.
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Jason Kelce announces retirement in tear-packed press conference

“No Keg videos this year, I have come to a decision and will address it at a press conference this afternoon,” Kelce’s post reads.

His tweet referenced a prank pulled by the Eagles last year that featured Kelce drinking a beer and announcing he would retire from hosting a local radio show instead of the NFL.

Kelce arrived at his press conference in a tank top and delivered a sprawling statement about the decision to hang up his helmet while also detailing many of the key memories he made during his storied football career.

The future hall-of-famer called out head coach Andy Reid for taking a chance on him in the sixth round of the NFL Draft and then later his brother Travis, who was in attendance and also in tears at the press conference.
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Kelce also didn’t shy away from the hard moments of his career, including the death of Andy Reid’s son Garrett Reid at Eagles’ training camp.

In addition to numerous other touching stories of his time in the NFL, the six-time AP All-Pro also recalled the swirl of positive and negative emotions he felt losing the Super Bowl to the Chiefs.

“I won’t forget falling short to the Chiefs and the conflicted feeling of immense heartbreak I had selfishly for myself and for my teammates,” Kelce said. “And, at the same time, the amount of pride I had that my brother had climbed the mountaintop once again.”

Kelce may have been in tears for nearly the entirety of his press conference, but it didn’t stop him from hiding a Taylor Swift reference while discussing the city of Philadelphia.

“I found my career being fulfilled in the city of brotherly love — I knew that relationship All Too Well,” Kelce said.

In addition to nearly 30 minutes of stories and tales from his career, Kelce also thanked his long-time offensive line coach, Jeff Stoutland, for saving his NFL career in 2016 and turning him into the presumptive first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee he is now.

Kelce finished off his press conference by thanking his parents, his children and wife Kylie Kelce.

“I think it’s no coincidence I have enjoyed my best years of my career with Kylie by my side,” he said.

Then, with an unassuming “that’s all I got,” Kelce stepped down from the podium, wiped his face, hugged his family and officially closed the book on his days as a player in the NFL.

Despite an early playoff exit, Kelce still made a significant splash during the postseason — attending and going viral for his behavior at Kansas City Chiefs playoff games.