Donning a cutoff shirt and trademark beard speckled with white on the cheeks, Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce couldn’t get through 10 words before tearing up, needing to gather himself as he prepared to give the final speech of his NFL career, in which he officially announced his retirement on Monday.
A Hall of Fame-worthy speech, an emotional Kelce spent roughly 45 minutes thanking everyone who touched his life throughout his football journey, from coaches and even the band teacher growing up to those who nurtured his career at Cincinnati to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and the teammates and coaches he battled with during his professional career.
“So this all brings us here to today, where I announce I am retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles,” Kelce said, brushing tears from his eyes. “And today, I must admit, I am officially overrated, vastly overrated. But (expletive), it took a lot of hard work and determination getting here.
“I have been the underdog my entire career and — I mean this when I say it — I wish I still was. Few things gave me more joy than proving someone wrong. My mother used to tell people and still says to this day, ‘If you want Jason to do something, all you have to do is tell him he can’t,’ and that was true in more ways than I care to admit. I relish doubters; they fuel the fire within. I suspect that comes from an upbringing where my parents would tell me, ‘Jason, you can do, you can be anything you put your mind to it and work hard to achieve it.’ So whenever I was faced with doubt in my career, be it from fans, coaches, even from my own teammates, the American dream would burn deep from inside my bones, which leads to my last Jeff Stoutland quote: ‘Hungry dogs run fast.’ “