Remember Jason Kelce’s wild celebration in the stands while cheering on his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, in January. It was during the Chiefs’ AFC Divisional clash against the Bills in Buffalo. After Travis scored a touchdown in the second quarter to put the Chiefs up 13-10, Jason had cheered and flexed with all his might — shirtless, beer in hand, and right in front of Taylor Swift. He has now revealed how many beer he had downed before he took his tarps off.
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The moment provided one of the most hilarious and enduring images from the entire 2024 NFL playoff campaign. While speaking on a Bills-themed podcast with fellow NFL alum Eric Wood last month, Kelce divulged the number. Though even he wasn’t certain.
“I don’t know, man… They were passing ’em out, we were havin’ a few. It would be hard to put a number on it… It had to be… I mean, it was well north of 20. It was probably in the 30s. Then you factor in the game, you’re drinking at the game. I mean, it was up there. It might have been a couple cases (of beer). It was a lot.”
Kelce and Wood were laughing throughout the conversation. Kelce had downed an insane number of cans for sure. The former Eagles center revealed that he also did a shot out of a bowling ball with a guy named Pinto Ron.
He then spoke about how much he enjoyed participating in that tailgate, even though it was with rival Bills fans. At Kelce’s job with ESPN, they bring him on-location to a lot of tailgates. He mentioned that he has been encouraging executives to let him join in the fun on-air, à la Pat McAfee. But that’s not happened yet.
For Kelce, while the game and the drinking are fun, it’s “more about the people you meet”. He pointed out that, as a player, he was never really able to drink and have fun with his fans. Now that he’s retired, he’s taking advantage of every opportunity that comes his way.
Surprisingly, he has bonded the most with the Bills fanbase. They are popularly referred to as the Bills Mafia for their wild and whacky tailgating and pre-game antics. While Kelce said he’d love to go back to Buffalo and tailgate with Bills Mafia again, both he and Wood agreed it would be best if it wasn’t a Chiefs-Bills game. Blood runs thicker than beer, it seems.
ESPN added Kelce to their growing list of on-air personalities in April after he announced his retirement. His main role is that of an analyst for their Monday Night Countdown show. However, he has also appeared on other broadcasts during the season and continues to host his podcast, New Heights, with brother Travis.
