In typical fashion, People’s 2023 Edition of the Sexiest Men Alive issue features several actors, such as Timothée Chalamet and Jamie Foxx, as well as a singer in Usher.
However, the magazine made a less obvious choice for its annual hunk-fest in Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, a 36-year-old, bearded Cleveland native who tips the scales at about 300 pounds.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Kelce joked on social media in response to the news.
No, Kelce doesn’t look like the movie stars that usually grace the cover of People. And perhaps his brother Travis might have been a more logical choice, considering the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is a reigning Super Bowl champion who happens to be dating Taylor Swift.
“I’m not even the sexiest man in my family, let alone the sexiest man in the world,” Travis told People. “I mean, what are we talking about here?”
Jason Kelce joked that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” in response to Wednesday’s news
Jason Kelce (left) pictured with brother Travis at a recent MLB playoff game in Philly
The criteria for Sexiest Men Alive are quite vague. Those who won are usually actors or those who make a living from their good looks.
Some athletes have managed to dig into the issue, although perhaps not for the best reasons. In 1998, then-Chiefs quarterback Elvis Grbac made the choice not because of his good looks, but rather because a People photographer mistook him for his backup, the handsomer Rich Gannon, according to sportswriter Jeff Pearlman.
Kelce isn’t paid to be pretty, of course, but rather to protect Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts while creating openings for Philadelphia’s running backs in the ground game. His personality is more blue-collar than that of his trendsetting brother Travis, and instead of dating an international celebrity, he is married with three children.
When asked if his selection for the issue gave him a big head, Kelce joked, “My head didn’t have to get any bigger when I walked around the house, that’s for sure.”
Previously, Kelce (center) appeared nude on the cover of ESPN’s ‘Body Issue’ in 2019
Jason Kelce and his wife Kylie (pictured) are parents of three young children
But modesty aside, Kelce is not ashamed of his sturdy build and once appeared naked in the pages of ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue along with his fellow Eagles offensive linemen.
“As an offensive lineman, you’re obviously a little bit different than most athletes, so our body types are going to be drastically different,” Kelce told ESPN.
Like other offensive linemen, such as former Cleveland Browns star Joe Thomas, Kelce plans to lose some weight during his retirement, which he admits is on the horizon.
“I would lose a lot of weight,” Kelce said. ‘I’m not looking forward to not playing football anymore, because I love playing football. But one thing I’m looking forward to is losing weight. I’m looking forward to feeling 60 pounds lighter.”
But there is one thing the former Super Bowl champion likes about his body.
“I don’t have a big butt, but I think it’s a nice butt,” Kelce said. “Or a nice ass, sorry.”
In a rematch of last February’s Super Bowl, Jason’s Eagles and Travis’ Chiefs will face off in Kansas City on November 20.