In recent weeks, a lot has been made about Jason Kelce’s future and whether that future involves a venture into the media side of things. While ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in January that the 36-year-old confided his retirement to teammates after the Philadelphia Eagles loss on Wild Card Weekend, the All-Pro center has yet to officially confirm his future plans, which leaves the door open for Kelce to return for another season.
And while his brother, Travis, seems to think he still has some football left in him, Jason keeps his options open, even as the two continue to build their media empire. While in Las Vegas cheering on his Super Bowl-bound brother, Jason explored potential broadcasting opportunities by meeting with both ESPN and Fox Sports, according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.
Here’s more from FOS:
According to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, Kelce met this week with ESPN to discuss possibly linking up; and FOS spoke to another source who witnessed Kelce meeting for the same purpose with Fox. (ESPN and Fox declined to comment.) Those talks are viewed as a preliminary “testing of the water;” he’s been “making the rounds” with various networks, according to one of the sources, and the expectation from both nets is that CBS, NBC and Amazon will join the hunt if Kelce officially becomes a TV free agent.
Media interest isn’t a new phenomenon for the elder Kelce brother. Building on his success with the New Heights podcast, Jason attended the 16th Annual NFL Media Workshop in April, joining 24 other players to explore careers in broadcasting, which saw him reflect on his experience, emphasizing that it was a “really hard” endeavor.
“This is all new territory for me. I have even more respect for it now,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s very hard to do something live, reactive of stimulus that just happened and having something clever and meaningful to say.”
“It’s a lot easier when you’re sitting on the couch or have heard the name over and over. Certainly, some of the names are difficult to remember on the spot,” Jason added.
But the Bootcamp seemingly hasn’t dissuaded him from pursuing future media endeavors, as Jason remains committed to exploring media opportunities after his playing career. McCarthy’s report suggests strong network interest once he hangs up his cleats. Kelce even impressed viewers with his natural talent alongside seasoned commentators like Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit during this season’s Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime.
While some, like Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod, theorize that NBC’s current lineup might necessitate learning from established veterans like Cris Collinsworth, there’s no doubt Jason possesses the potential to thrive in various media settings.
UPDATE (7:08 p.m. Eastern): Michael McCarthy reports that Amazon Prime Video met with Kelce to discuss a potential role for its Thursday Night Football coverage.
UPDATE: Amazon Prime Video also met with Jason Kelce in Las Vegas this week to discuss possibly joining their ‘Thursday Night Football’ coverage, sources tell @FOS. https://t.co/jUF5XhSez6
— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) February 10, 2024
[FOS]
