The Philadelphia Eagles have shared an emotional video paying tribute to Jason Kelce after he announced his retirement from football.
An emotional Kelce broke down in tears during a press conference Monday as he hung up his cleats after a sensational 13 years in the NFL.
As his brother Travis, wife Kylie and parents Ed and Donna looked on, Kelce took 45 minutes to reflect on his career and thank those who helped him reach the top of football.
The center was founded in 2011 by Andy Reid and the Eagles and spent his entire career in Philadelphia, where he won the Super Bowl with them in 2018.
Following his announcement Monday, the franchise posted a moving video — lasting nearly seven minutes — on social media to honor his legendary career.
The Philadelphia Eagles have posted an emotional tribute to Jason Kelce following his retirement
It includes footage of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie praising Kelce’s personality and leadership
There’s a clip of Kelce’s famous parade speech, dressed as one of Philadelphia’s Mummers
He also broke down in tears when interviewed after the Eagles at the Super Bowl
It includes ghosting of Andy Reid, who drafted Kelce, talking to the center in one game
There are plenty of clips of Kelce giving motivational speeches to his Eagles teammates
It opens with footage of Kelce’s final moment in the NFL – in their wild-card round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs before advancing to his first after being drafted in 2011.
The tribute features many of Kelce’s motivational lyrics from his famous team speeches throughout his career.
There’s footage from perhaps the biggest day of Kelce’s career: the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory.
It features the iconic “Philly Special” play that allowed Nick Foles to score a touchdown and then transitions to Kelce’s famous parade speech dressed as one of Philadelphia’s Mummers.
There is also footage of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie paying tribute to Kelce. In it he says, “This guy Jason represents everything that is great about the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He’s an incredible leader, teammate, proven winner, fan favorite, but also like no other athlete we’ve had or rarely seen in the city: someone who truly captures the essence of what it’s like to be a Philadelphian to be.
“Not only does everyone at the Eagles love you, but to me you are exactly what a Philadelphia athlete should be.”
The clip also shows Eagles owner Lurie saluting Kelce for his charity work off the field
You see how he kisses wife Kylie after one match on the field and tells her: ‘I love you’
Brother Travis plants a kiss on Jason’s face after one of their many battles during their careers
Kelce hugs one of his daughters while recording his hit New Heights podcast with brother Travis
It also praises Kelce’s work off the field and his charity work in the city of Philadelphia, particularly with the Eagles Autism Foundation.
There’s more footage of Kelce talking about the coaches he’s played for before moving on to more of his inspirational speeches before and during games.
Kelce is then shown as a husband, father and brother. He’s been seen kissing wife Kylie, playing with his young daughters and then hugging Travis on the pitch after one of their games.
The moving video ends with Kelce saying, “I didn’t look back at the time and say, ‘I’m going to play this long,’ but I think perseverance is something you have to have and outside of that I’ve just been lucky and lucky to be good enough play and stay healthy enough to play for a long time.”
Kelce broke down in tears before he even started speaking, finally ending months of speculation when he ended his career on Monday after 13 years in the NFL.
It took him 45 minutes to recount his career from his childhood in Ohio to his final days with the Eagles, with tears, laughter and many thanks to his greatest influences, before finally announcing his retirement.
“I’ve been the underdog my whole career,” he said. “And I mean this when I say it, I still wish it was me.”
Kelce announced his retirement from football during an emotional press conference on Monday
Kelce had to pause his speech to take a deep breath as he struggled to keep his emotions in check
Travis was moved to tears when he saw his brother talking while sitting next to their parents
An emotional Kelce struggled to get his words out; he frequently paused for long periods and his voice cracked as he tried to hold back tears.
Speculation first arose that Kelce would hang up his cleats when the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January.
However, he declined to announce a final decision on his future in the weeks that followed, instead supporting brother Travis throughout the postseason as the Kansas City Chiefs ultimately won the Super Bowl.
Kelce was close to retirement this time last year, but decided to stick around for another season after struggling to walk away — a process that was captured on film in his hit Amazon Prime documentary.
Kelce finished his career making 156 consecutive starts, earning six of them All-Pro Team selections. He played 193 regular season games for the Eagles.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to play my entire career in one city,” Kelce said. “If I had tried, I couldn’t have dreamed a better one.”