‘Kelce’ directors are filming Jason Kelce again

Philly directors Don Argott and Sheena Joyce have watched Jason Kelce agonize over his retirement decision for years as they filmed the Amazon Video documentary Kelce. Though he announced his departure from the Eagles last week, Kelce had initially planned to retire in 2021.

At that point, he approached the filmmaker couple to make a farewell film, but then the Eagles went to the Super Bowl — the historic Kelce vs. Kelce game — and he postponed his retirement. Instead of a goodbye film, the documentary, released last fall, covered that direction change and the family’s increasing fame. It went on to become Amazon’s most-watched documentary at the time.

When Kelce prepared to make the retirement official, he invited the couple, now friends, back to capture the seismic moment. They joined him the day before his emotional announcement as the athlete did something incredibly on-brand and over-the-top: He jumped onto a burning table in Havertown (with the help of firefighters) mimicking a Buffalo Bills fan tradition, with his brother Travis egging him on. It was a blast, a celebratory day before the sad one.

“In a way, we’ve kind of been making the Jason Kelce retirement documentary all along. I don’t know where we’re all going to end up with this [footage] but we’re honored, and really feel privileged to be included in his life like this,” said Joyce, a lifelong Eagles fan from Delaware County.

Kelce’s tearful goodbye speech impacted Philadelphians across the city. While Argott went with Kelce to the NovaCare Complex, Joyce took their daughter to the doctor, where a secretary was live-streaming the event and sobbing.

“When he called us … all I could do was congratulate him, because I know what a difficult decision it was to come to, and how heartbreaking it is to put a period at the end of that sentence,” she said.

Argott said filming the big day was heavy and emotional because of how much Kelce means to his fans and this city. “We were spoiled to have him for 13 seasons. Jason — more than, frankly, anybody — has embodied what this city is all about in terms of sports, your attitude about sports, and how you play the game. He’s the type of player [with] heart and soul, that person that we’ve always been able to count on,” he said.

Joyce and Argott remarked on a noticeable change in Kelce since they first started shadowing him: He was ready for that next step. The day provided closure for all of them, no matter how bittersweet.

“Jason wants to make sure he can perform at peak level at all times, and he knows that if he cannot perform at that peak level, that it’s going to eat him up,” said Joyce. “That’s a really painful realization.”

The pair has seen the Kelces become household names, as the brothers went on to create their popular New Heights podcast and Travis began dating Taylor Swift. (Argott and Joyce view her influence as overwhelmingly positive because the sport is reaching a new audience of young girls and women.)

Kelce was released in September, when the Tay-Trav relationship rumors were everywhere, and big brother himself dropped hints even as he fended off reporters. That kind of attention only heightened the interest in the Kelces’ story.

There are numerous paths Kelce can take now, from coaching to commentating. The film captured one place the athlete enjoyed — a cattle ranch in Missouri’s Ozarks — so farming might be in the picture. As Kelce navigates his career transition, there may be more opportunities to film.

“We’re here for the ride, and we’ll be on it as long as they’ll have us,” said Argott.