While there’s been talk about Jason Kelce retiring from football for a while now, reportedly he will not be returning to the game next season. According to reports from inside sources, the long-time Philadelphia Eagles center has decided to step away. While many NFL fans are bummed by this news, considering the 36-year-old is likely a future hall of famer, Swifties are also devastated. This is because they’ve become so invested in Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s relationship, they’ve also fallen in love with his big brother Jason, so of course, they’re also sad to hear this news.
Jason Kelce Is Reportedly Retiring From Football
Following the Eagles 32-9 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, ESPN and the NFL reported that, according to “league sources,” Jason Kelce told his teammates in the locker room after the game that he would be retiring.
Multiple reports have explained that the center was emotional as he walked off the field, and it’s no secret that Kelce has been thinking about retirement. In his documentary Kelce – which you can stream with an Amazon Prime subscription – he considered leaving the league following the 2022-2023 season after he played his brother in Super Bowl LVII.
While Jason Kelce has been talking about retirement for a while, there are also rumors and speculation surrounding the Eagles that may have impacted his choice. This team lost six of their seven last games. Rumors have been circulating about how the coaching staff will be impacted. And after the team’s loss against the Bucs, the quarterback, Jalen Hurts didn’t exactly defend his coach Nick Sirianni, because when asked if he wanted him to come back, the player simply said “I didn’t know he was going anywhere,” per The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Along with that, Fox Sports Laura Okmin shared that Kelce would yell “Fuck my life!” any time he got ready to snap the ball and do the team’s signature, and controversial, play The Tush Push. Overall, there’s a lot of speculation about the relationships between the players and coaches in Philly, making people wonder if it had something to do with No. 62’s alleged retirement.
After the game, Kelce did not speak to reporters, and at the time of this writing, he has not confirmed the reports himself. However, it seems likely that he’ll address it during the next episode of New Heights – which I’m sure many, including the Swifties, will be listening to.
Swifties Are Super Sad That Jason Kelce Is Reportedly Retiring
Normally, you wouldn’t expect the news about any NFL player's retirement to impact a pop star’s fanbase. However, the Swifties have become invested in the entire Kelce family ever since she started dating Travis, and they adore Jason. For example, one Swiftie explained their confusion and sadness about the news in this X post:
never in a million years did i think i’d one day wake up to swifties posting tiktok edits of jason kelce to honor his nfl retirement, set to a taylor swift song, but here we are 🫡January 16, 2024
Others had more of a “Vigilante Shit” attitude about it all, and they didn’t want Jason to be sad. So, naturally, they’d rather have one of the folks Swifties don’t like feeling this pain instead. For example, this person posted:
god please take Jason Kelce's pain away and give it to K*nye W*est pic.twitter.com/8bgOx6UxqGJanuary 16, 2024
Many fans of Taylor Swift, including me, started to fall in love with Jason when rumors about the singer and Travis began, and he was asked about them but did not confirm his little brother’s relationship. We started listening to New Heights, and quickly realized that both Kelce brothers are an absolute hoot. Now, we’re feeling all the emotions about the center leaving the NFL, and some folks are coping the only way they know how, through fan edits:
If anybody makes an edit of Jason Kelce’s top moments in the NFL set to Taylor Swift’s “Long Live,” I will sue them for emotional damage.January 16, 2024
Many Swifties are very caring too, and wish Jason the best during what has to be an emotional time. For example, this fan posted:
The Kelce family deserves the world & anyone who thinks otherwise can argue w/ the wall. There’s no doubt the entire family is in their feels today & no one should be upset if we dont get new heights this week. Jason deserves to take a minute. They all do. pic.twitter.com/FO3Bb7ggl6January 16, 2024
I’ll leave you with this relatable post, from a fan who was feeling all emo about this news regarding Jason Kelce:
Never did I think in 2024 that me and every other swiftie would be crying over Jason Kelce, but here we are 🥺 pic.twitter.com/N1B1R6RxVZJanuary 16, 2024
From listening to Jason and Travis joke about jersey sales and the tight end’s relationship to seeing the legendary center on the field, there’s no question that Swifties have a lot of love for the older Kelce brother. No matter what caused Jason Kelce's decision to retire, moments like this are always bittersweet at best, and Taylor Swift’s fans want to make sure the center knows they are here for him.
