Many football fans are clamoring for updates on Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce’s retirement timelines, but mother Donna Kelce isn’t worried about them hanging up their cleats.
“[I] can’t believe that they wouldn’t be in the future involved with football in some capacity because they love it so much,” Donna, 71, told People in an interview published on Saturday, January 26. “They love the people and they love the coaches. They just love the whole aspect about it.”
Jason, 36, and Travis, 34, took up football in high school where they played side-by-side. They were teammates again during their mutual tenure at the University of Cincinnati. Jason was the first to enter the NFL draft, joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011. Travis followed two years later when he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The two pro football players — Jason is a center, while Travis is a tight end — eventually became the first siblings to face off in the Super Bowl in February 2023. Travis and the Chiefs ultimately beat Jason and the Eagles.
Both brothers returned to the NFL for the 2023-2024 season, of which both teams made the playoffs earlier this month. The Eagles, however, were knocked out during the AFC Wild Card round. After Jason’s team lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, news broke that the center was considering retirement.
“I’ll know he’s retiring when he starts to lose weight,” Ed Kelce, Jason and Travis’ dad, said during a Friday, January 26, radio show appearance. “These guys are very health-conscious. As soon as they decide to retire from the game, they shed a ton of weight. Once that happens, you’re not coming back.”
Jason Kelce, Donna Kelce and Travis Kelce Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Travis, meanwhile, is not currently thinking about stepping back from professional ball. “Travis will play until they kick him off,” Ed quipped on Friday. “As he says, he’ll ‘play until the wheels fall off.’”
Travis’ season is currently ongoing as the Chiefs will compete against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship on Sunday, January 28. The winners of the conference game will determine which team will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl next month.
Jason Kelce is seemingly ready for retirement after 13 years in the NFL. Kelce, 36, reportedly told his teammates that he was retiring after the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on January 15, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter. After the loss, Jason seemed emotional on the sidelines as did his wife […]
If Travis and the Chiefs lose on Sunday, then their season will be over for the year. If they make the Super Bowl, it will continue until the February 11 championship before the offseason officially begins.
Donna previously gave Us Weekly a glimpse into how her sons spend their football hiatus.
“They’re just exhausted, so I’m not seeing them very much [in the offseason],” she exclusively told Us earlier this month. “They are on the move 24/7, whether it’s football or whether it’s something else like other competitions [and their ‘New Heights’ podcast keeps them] very, very busy.”
Jason and Travis launched a sports podcast in 2022, named for their Cleveland Heights hometown, to dish about the NFL on a weekly basis. Donna, Ed and Jason’s wife, Kylie Kelce, have all made now-viral cameos on the podcast. “New Heights” is also how Travis infamously revealed his crush on now-girlfriend, Taylor Swift, in July 2023.