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(WHTM) — Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce will join ESPN as part of its “Monday Night Football” pregame show, sources told The Athletic and Variety.
Kelce has risen to fame outside of sports for his podcast “New Heights,” which he does with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The podcast, while already popular, drew in even more fans last year in light of Travis’ relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.
Jason Kelce’s exposure on the podcast reportedly led to meetings with media executives on post-football plans.
The Athletic reported in March that, according to “executives with knowledge of the network’s plans,” ESPN was pursuing Kelce for its “Monday Night Football” pregame.
Last year, Kelce joined the Amazon Thursday Night Football broadcast as an analyst and was the subject of an Amazon documentary “Kelce.” Amazon, CBS and NBC were all interested in hiring the eldest Kelce brother, according to The Athletic. USA Today says FOX was also on that list.
ESPN declined to provide a comment to The Athletic and Variety.
Kelce retired from the Eagles this year after 13 seasons, 193 games, and one Super Bowl victory where he established himself as one of the greatest centers of all time (though he recently lost his Super Bowl ring). He made seven Pro Bowls and was a six-time All-Pro with the Eagles.
News of Jason’s new gig comes just a few weeks after Amazon Prime Video announced Travis will host “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” The 20-episode series is a spinoff of the popular “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” On Monday, Travis also signed a contract extension with the Chiefs, becoming the highest-paid tight end in the league, according to Nexstar’s WDAF.
Per The Athletic, ESPN has also landed former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who is slated to appear weekly on “The Pat McAfee Show.”