Jason Kelce officially joins ESPN, immediately bear hugs ‘Abbott Elementary’ star Quinta Brunson

It’s official: Jason Kelce is heading to ESPN.

The former Eagles center, who retired in March after 13 seasons with the Birds, will be a studio analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football pregame show alongside host Scott Van Pelt and fellow analysts Ryan Clark and Marcus Spears. NFL insider Adam Schefter and reporter Michelle Beisner-Buck round out the show. Kelce will also join Van Pelt and Clark at halftime.

Kelce made his ESPN debut Tuesday afternoon during a pitch to advertisers by parent company Disney, where he was introduced by his former teammate, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and gave a bear hug to Quinta Brunson, Philly native and creator of Abbott Elementary.

“It’s Monday night freaking football,” Kelce said. “My brother and I grew up watching Monday Night Football, glued to the television waiting for it to start. We’d be in the locker room excited to get out there in primetime as players. I know what’s going on in those guys’ heads. And now to still be able to take part in that as an analyst, I’m really excited.”

Brunson asked the question on just about everyone’s minds: Will Kelce wear a tie or go topless during his TV appearances?

“Topless,” Hurts quickly answered. “Topless and sandals.”

“Game-time decision,” Kelce responded.

Kelce is filling the slot held last season by former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III, who is not returning to Monday Night Countdown, but will remain at ESPN, according to sources.

Kelce will also join ESPN’s conference championship and Super Bowl coverage this season. ESPN and ABC will broadcast Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles in February 2027, the network’s first Super Bowl since 2006. Kelce isn’t expected to appear much on such shows as Get Up! and First Take, but the network said in a statement that “further opportunities will be explored.”

“Jason is a highly respected Super Bowl champion with a strong connection to fans,” Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content, said in a statement. “... Viewers will benefit from his perspective, which has been shaped through his years as an established locker room leader and a future Hall of Fame center.”

While Kelce chose ESPN, he could have landed at any of the major networks. Executives at Fox, Amazon, and CBS met with Kelce leading up to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, and he was impressive last season as a guest analyst on Thursday Night Football during the Eagles’ bye week. He hinted at one reason he chose ESPN, and it involved his wife, Kylie, and their children.

“I have three wonderful daughters, my wife, Kylie, and a grandmother that lives in Orlando. So we will be taking full advantage of the parks,” Kelce joked.

His first game will be a doozy. In Week 1 on Monday Night Football, Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets will face the San Francisco 49ers, a team Kelce and the Eagles have a bit of history with.

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Despite his new role as an NFL analyst, Kelce appears to be committed to the Eagles.

Last week, during an interview on the NFL Network, Eagles kicker Jake Elliott said Kelce had been at the team’s facility “almost every day” during the offseason. Kelce lives in Haverford in Delaware County and has committed to returning to Ocean Drive in Sea Isle City this summer to be the guest bartender at a charity event for the Eagles Autism Foundation.

Last year, the Eagles appeared on Monday Night Football three times, including a late-season flex that angered a number of fans. This year, it will be interesting to hear his analysis of a team he spent his entire professional career playing for.

“It hurts very bad that I won’t be able to go out there with Philadelphia this year and partake in the wonderful successes that they will enjoy this year,” Kelce said.

Kelce gave a preview of what fans can expect following the NFL draft, where he focused the bulk of his analysis of the Eagles’ top two picks — cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean — on his New Heights podcast with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

“It feels really weird saying this the way the season ended. I really don’t think there were a lot of needs for this Eagles roster,” Jason Kelce said. “The big areas that I think were left untapped — they obviously have been vocal about improving the secondary — and they get it right away with the first round pick, and boy did they. I think this was a lot of people’s top-rated player in the draft at the cornerback position.”

Speaking of New Heights, the Kelce brothers have reportedly been on the market shopping their podcast, which has been with Wave Sports + Entertainment since it was launched in 2022. Bloomberg reported last month New Heights could fetch “eight figures,” and Amazon is among the companies interested in landing the popular podcast, according to the New York Post.

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