For most folks, the word “retirement” usually conjures up thoughts of leisurely activities and reclined furniture, but Jason Kelce isn’t your average retiree. The former Super Bowl-winning center for the Philadelphia Eagles has done just about everything except sit still since retiring from the National Football League in March of 2024, and the only time he seems to rest is when he’s chatting with his future-Hall-of-Fame brother, Travis Kelce, for their New Heights podcast.
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The former Eagle’s latest escapade involved him traveling to New England and donning a pea coat to shoot black-powder rifles as part of the opening ceremony for the New England Patriots’ Monday night match-up against the New York Giants. Having fully committed to being part of the “Endzone Militia,” Kelce was thrilled to fire his first musket shot, but unfortunately, the hype didn’t match the experience.
“The whole time Michelle was talking about how much recoil these guns have,” Kelce prefaced. “I fired it and I felt zero recoil. I don’t think it fired. Everybody’s like, ‘No, it fired. It fired.’ I’m pretty sure it didn’t.”
Now, to be fair, with Kelce standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 282 pounds, it’s going to be pretty hard to find a weapon that has enough recoil to move him. After all, the NFL struggled to find one for the better part of the last 15 years.
“You’re a little f**king stiff, Jesus Christ,” Travis explained after seeing the clip of his brother attempting to line up his shot.
“I was trying to be militaristic in my stance,” Jason joked. It is worth noting, however, that the footage does ultimately show Kelce’s musket failing to fire.
Despite the puff of smoke and the slight movement of the barrel, the gun did not actually go off, vindicating the former center’s disappointment. “I don’t know what went wrong,” he admitted. “I think this is probably pretty common with these older weapons. I think they misfire quickly.”
Hopefully, Kelce’s next promotional stunt with ESPN won’t result in a misfire, as the network is currently paying him $8 million a year to be one of the premier faces of their Monday Night Countdown show. For a bit of context, Kelce had an APY of $9 million while playing for the Eagles in 2021.
Suffice to say retirement looks good on the former Super Bowl champion, and given his current trajectory, his brother figures to be joining him sooner rather than later, as the Kansas City Chiefs continue to struggle through the 2025 regular season.
