Jason Kelce ends his career with another emotional speech

The Eagles 13-year center had a lot of people to thank and a lot of memories to recall during his memorable retirement speech.

As the people closest to Jason Kelce started taking their seats in the NovaCare auditorium, the Eagles’ center took the stage. He sat behind a microphone, started pulling up his speech, and immediately became emotional. Kelce was choking back tears as he attempted to begin, but it took over a minute before he was able to speak.

Kelce went on to look back over his long football career and thank his coaches from high school, college, and in the NFL. He thanked his family and, through tears, recalled some of his fondest memories of moments that helped lead him to this point of his career. The center thanked his teammates, the city, and the fans.

He spoke for over 40 minutes, and every second was worth listening to — another memorable speech by the master of them. Toward the end, and with some difficulty, Kelce announced his official retirement from the NFL.

Here are some of many notables:

• His relationship with OL coach Jeff Stoutland was highlighted many times, with Kelce including three of his favorite Stoutland quotes, and explaining how Stoutland was not only responsible for his Hall-of-Fame-worthy career, but also for Kelce staying with the Eagles after his poor season in 2016. Stoutland went to bat for Kelce, telling Howie Roseman and the front office that Kelce’s problems could be fixed — and then the pair put in the work to make sure they did.
• Kelce thanked all four Eagles coaches he played for: Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson, and Nick Sirianni. He recalled games and moments from each of those tenures, highlighting a very versatile and up-and-down career.
• He talked about how diverse an NFL locker room is, with teammates coming from all different parts of the country and backgrounds. Kelce then quipped that only in the NFL can a 6’8 Jordan Mailata play the same sport as a 4’8 Darren Sproles.
• Kelce also made a joke about Howie Roseman being moved to a closet during the one-year in Chip Kelly’s era.

• The Eagles legend talked about his relationship with the city of Philadelphia, and gave a lesson to others about the bond between fans and players.