Former Philadelphia Eagles star lineman Jason Kelce was one of ESPN’s big additions coverage for upcoming 2024-25 NFL season. But much like Tom Brady with Fox, Kelce isn’t quite ready to leave his NFL relationships behind him in his new media role.
Much has been made of Brady’s pursuit of an ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, which will result in a number of limitations to him in his new color analyst role at Fox should his ownership group’s bid ultimately get accepted.
Kelce’s situation is a bit different considering he will be doing his work from a studio. The former seven-time Pro Bowler, who will be a studio analyst on Monday Night Countdown, still has a close relationship with the Philadelphia Eagles organization.
He admitted on a recent episode of his New Heights podcast alongside his brother Travis Kelce that he is still frequently in the Eagles facilities, but is not on the team’s payroll.
“For me, I’m not accepting any money from the Eagles. I don’t have an official position,” said Kelce. “I’m really just going there out of pure interest on my own to keep my knowledge of the game up. And, obviously, I’ve built up a lot of relationships with the people around that building that I’m gonna help out in any way I can. But the reality is, that’s not my job.”
Kelce seemingly hasn’t heard anything from his new employer about the matter. He later shared that he wasn’t sure if there were any conflict of interest concerns from ESPN.
“I don’t know what the rule is,” Kelce said when asked by his brother whether he had discussed this with the network.
Well, we now know how ESPN feels about the situation. In a statement to the New York Post, they detailed that they are “fine with Jason being around the Eagles in an unofficial capacity”.
When you compare the roles that Kelce and Brady will have at their respective networks, it does make sense that ESPN is giving Kelce some wiggle room with his former team while the NFL has raised concerns about Brady.
A big part of an in-game broadcaster’s responsibilities is to speak with players and coaches before games they are calling, which is why Brady will be restricted from being in team facilities due to his looming ownership role with the Raiders. Kelce, meanwhile, will have much less direct contact with players and coaches in his role in the studio.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see how each of these NFL legends do in their respective roles this coming season, even if Brady’s will perhaps be a bit more challenging than Kelce’s due to his restrictions.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.