After Jason Kelce wrapped up his deeply emotional retirement announcement on Monday, he hugged each member of his family before making his way through the assembled media, shaking everyone's hand and offering hugs.
Kelce's decision to do so may have been simple gratitude—he spent nearly 40 minutes thanking as many people as he could name through tears during his speech—but it also made sense from a career perspective. After all, members of the media may soon be Kelce's colleagues.
The 36-year-old now-former star center for the Philadelphia Eagles spent the past two seasons building his New Heights podcast with his brother Travis. The two discuss fan emails, go through various segments and break down the week's games. Throughout this past year, the show spiked in popularity, becoming one of the biggest podcasts on both Apple and Spotify. Part of the credit belongs with Travis' new relationship with Taylor Swift—New Heights became a relatively safe space for Travis to discuss Swift on his terms, and Swifties tuned in weekly.
But Swift only played a part. The Kelce brothers are also both very good at talking about football in entertaining terms.
New Heights showcases how Jason and Travis can play off of each other in a compelling and entertaining manner. The show—hosted by Wave Sports + Entertainment (who declined interview requests)—features plenty of personable moments and catchphrases ("New news!" and "All right now" are two prime examples), but at its heart, the entertainment lies in seeing two supportive brothers talk about their very high-profile jobs.
Whether Jason remains as compelling on New Heights in retirement remains to be seen. Much like Travis talking about Swift this year, Jason was able to address notable moments that happened in Eagles games, like when cameras spotted him apparently screaming at a Dallas Cowboys defender.
"Jason, why don't you tell the people what the f*** you were doing," Travis said in the November episode.
"I actually wasn't screaming," Jason said. "I was laughing as loud as I could in his face. I was going like this."
Kelce then proceeded to scrunch up his face and scream with faux laughter so loudly that his podcast mic distorted for seven seconds before snapping immediately back to a straight face.
"That's exactly what I was doing," he said.
"That's f****** terrifying," Travis said.
The good news for New Heights as a show is that Travis remains employed by the defending Super-Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and has shown no interest in retirement this summer. As long as he remains on the field, the podcast should be able to retain its fastball—two engaging brothers talking about the NFL from a place of authority—while Jason builds his retirement podcasting persona.
The good news for Jason individually, meanwhile, is that he has also proven he can handle himself on a broadcast. Last season, Amazon Prime was stuck with a brutal Thursday Night Football matchup between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. Kelce's appearance livened up the broadcast significantly, suggesting that he might be a great addition in the future.
Where might Kelce land? Front Office Sports noted that Jason met with ESPN and FOX executives in Las Vegas, while Awful Announcing said that NBC, Amazon and NFL-affiliated networks would all make sense as well and that "the sky is the limit" for someone with Kelce's potential.
"I don't know what's next," Kelce said at Monday's press conference. "But I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities that await."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Tom Westerholm is a Sports & Culture Reporter for Newsweek. Prior to joining Newsweek, he was the Boston Celtics beat ... Read more
