Jason Kelce’s Retirement Speech Was Years in the Making

Jason Kelce has an emotional moment while announcing his retirement at a Monday afternoon press conference at the NovaCare complex.
Retired Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce has spent years writing his NFL retirement speech, said his wife, Kylie, writes Jenna Lemoncellli for The New York Post.

She saw several versions of her husband’s retirement speech. The one he gave March 4 was a completely different version, she said.

Speaking to NBC 10 Philadelphia, Kylie said she’s “heard multiple versions over the last four years.”

I think every year he sort of started from scratch as to what was sitting on the surface. But when he said that he was contemplating retirement ‘for years,’ he means ‘for years.”‘

Kelce, 36, spent his entire 13-season career with the Philadelphia Eagles.

I think I was the only one that had heard his speech before we went into it,” Kylie said. “I think it was just a perfect summary of 13 years. I always say ‘he’s not from [Philadelphia] but he gets it,’ so that was the perfect example.”

During a March 6 installment of the “New Heights” podcast, Kelce said his retirement was “a long time coming” and that his body couldn’t keep up with his desire to keep playing.