Jason Kelce joins ESPN for ‘Monday Night Countdown’

Even while Jason Kelce was still playing in the NFL, there was a lot of talk about how he was likely to be a media star post-career. He was spotlighted in the Kelce documentary on Prime Video and received plenty of praise for his work on the New Heights podcast with brother (and Taylor Swift’s “significant other”) Travis.

And following Kelce’s retirement this offseason, lots of speculation sprung up on what broadcaster he might land at. Well, as per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, that has now been answered. Marchand reported Monday that Kelce is headed to ESPN for a role on their Monday Night Football pregame show, Monday Night Countdown. Here’s more from that piece:

The recently retired Jason Kelce is headed to ESPN to be part of its “Monday Night Football” pregame show, sources briefed on the move told The Athletic.

Kelce, who just retired after what is considered a Hall of Fame career with the Philadelphia Eagles, was sought after by multiple networks, but is slated to land on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown.”

…Jason, 36, has been interested in media and drew interest from NBC, CBS and Amazon, among others.

… Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night set is already pretty packed. NBC and CBS were both interested in adding Kelce to their Sunday desks.

ESPN was reportedly “aggressively pursuing” Kelce this offseason following his retirement. And he reportedly met with both them and Fox around the Super Bowl. But that certainly didn’t mean he was sure to wind up there.

The wide range of networks with interest in Kelce gave him a lot of control. And some, such as Dan Patrick, suggested that ESPN might not be an ideal fit for Kelce given his “unique personality” and that network’s focus on using their talents across a wide variety of shows and platforms. There also was talk that a place like Amazon that’s embraced more personality from individual analysts (and which Kelce already had connections at from that documentary and from a Thursday Night Football guest appearance last year) might be an easier fit. And NBC was also heavily discussed given their current lack of NFL depth.

However, Kelce has chosen ESPN. And he seems likely to add some viewer interest to Monday Night Countdown. Beyond his aforementioned media work, he was featured in People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue, he took part in an Eagles (Philadelphia, not the band)’ Christmas album, and he’s been cited as a key part of what’s drawn so much attention to the Kelce family. We’ll see how he does as a regular broadcaster, but all indications to this point are that he should be up to the task.

[The Athletic]