While Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is getting a lot of media attention, especially around his relationship with pop music star Taylor Swift, his brother Jason’s having his moment in the spotlight as well. Jason, the Philadelphia Eagles’ center, was a key part of getting that team to the Super Bowl in February and facing off against Travis there in the “Kelce Bowl.” And while it was Travis who hosted Saturday Night Live after, Jason was there in the crowd.
Jason also co-hosts the New Heights podcast with Travis, which has been a key spotlight for both of them. And he’s the focus of the Kelce documentary on Prime Video. And now, he was featured in People‘s annual “Sexiest Man Alive” issue (with that actual award won by actor Patrick Dempsey), although Travis won the reader’s choice poll for sexiest athlete.
Jason Kelce was selected as one of People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” finalists for 2023. He is joined by Timothée Chalamet, Lenny Kravitz, Pedro Pascal, Usher, and Jamie Foxx.#Eagles pic.twitter.com/KfU6KG7GqP
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) November 8, 2023
Kelce weighed in on that on Twitter:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder… https://t.co/Kzm0xD2aG9
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) November 8, 2023
He also discussed it on 94 WIP in Philadelphia:
Jason Kelce on being named as a finalist for PEOPLE’S 2023 Sexiest Man Alive: “I’m not even the sexiest man in my family.” pic.twitter.com/yswBVEHjnC
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) November 8, 2023
People has been handing out the “Sexiest Man Alive” award since 1985, starting with Mel Gibson. The main award has typically gone to an actor, but David Beckham took it in 2015 (two years after he retired from soccer). And former athletes Mark Harmon and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have won (in 1986 and 2016 respectively), albeit well after their playing career (although Johnson was still wrestling on occasion then). But there is a separate “Sexiest Athlete” award that has been handed out as well, including once mistakenly to Elvis Grbac instead of teammate Rich Gannon.
In addition to this award from People, Kelce will also be on Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football coverage this week. He’ll be part of their pregame/halftime/postgame panel for the Chicago Bears-Carolina Panthers game:
A special guest joins the #TNFonPrime crew on Thursday Night! 👀 🦅 pic.twitter.com/66arylBaYL
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) November 8, 2023
That’s a particularly interesting appearance, as Thursday Night Football is one of the few top NFL studio shows to regularly feature a former offensive lineman as an analyst. They have Andrew Whitworth on their pregame/halftime/postgame panel alongside host Charissa Thompson and fellow analysts Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tony Gonzalez, and Richard Sherman. And Whitworth told AA earlier this year that Kelce is part of a larger movement where people are recognizing what insights linemen can bring:
“I think people’s eyes are being opened to maybe to the game a little bit more. I think that the perception of what offensive linemen do and what they know of offense and defense is probably a little misunderstood. I think that especially in this game today, I mean, some of the centers I’ve played with, for example, and Jason [Kelce] would be a great example of that, their understanding of the game of football, from the complexities of what defensive structures are, to what it takes to play successful defense and then also offensively understanding what they’re looking for, you know, from identifications of different defenses and how all the intricacies of an offense they have to understand.”
“…I am really excited to see the Jason Kelces, the Taylor Lewans, all the different guys across the spectrum that now are getting involved in the game and being able to talk about something they love and they do and play at a high level. Because I think they have something great to bring to the game from a very different perspective. I think we’re much more than just the big uglies that we’re known as, and I think people are going to find that out over time.”
Kelce certainly has been part of that. And now, this center newly featured in People‘s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue will get to bring his analyst chops to TNF.
[People, NFL on Prime on Twitter]
