After 13 seasons in the NFL, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is retiring. The 36-year-old gave the official announcement during a press conference on Monday, getting emotional as he said goodbye to the only team he ever played for.
On the field, Kelce was one of the greatest to ever play his position. He is a Super Bowl champion, six-time first-team All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler. He also holds the franchise record for most consecutive starts (156) and most regular-season games played by an offensive lineman (193).
While he made a major impact when he was playing, he made just as much of an impact off the field. His big personality, interesting outfit choices and inspiring speeches made him one of the most loved Philly athletes of all-time.
In no particular order, let's take a look at some of Kelce's most iconic moments:
Super Bowl parade speech
The Eagles were fresh off winning Super Bowl LII, defeating the New England Patriots to earn their first Super Bowl win as a franchise. Kelce put on his best outfit, one that needs no introduction, and took the microphone to deliver what became one of the best championship parade speeches of all-time.
For starters, let's look at his fit before we get into what he actually said that day:
The Eagles played up being the underdogs, and naturally it was a major talking point of the speech. Here is just a snippet:
"We were a bunch of underdogs, and you know what an underdog is? It's a hungry dog. And [Eagles offensive line coach] Jeff Stoutland has had this in our building for five years, it's a quote in the O-line room that has stood on the wall for the past five years: 'Hungry dogs run faster.' And that's this team. ... Bottom line is: We wanted it more. All the players, all the coaches," Kelce said. "The front office, [owner] Jeffrey Lurie, everyone wanted it more, and that's why we're up here today and that's why we're the first Eagles team to hold the [Lombardi] trophy."
Kelce, forever a man of the people, thanked everyone who came out to celebrate with the Birds.
"For 52 years, y'all have been waiting for this. You want to talk about an underdog? You want to talk about a hungry dog? For 52 years, you've been starved of a championship."
Shirtless Kelce joins NFL crowd
Kelce was cheering on his brother, Travis Kelce, and the Chiefs in the playoffs, and things got a bit out of hand for the center. He was joined in the suite alongside wife Kylie, singer Taylor Swift, who is dating Travis, and other celebrities as the Chiefs took on the Buffalo Bills.
Kylie revealed that Kelce really wanted to jump through a table, a Bills tradition, but instead settled for jumping out of the suite, into the stands, all while shirtless. The cold weather did not seem to stop him from living his best life.
Batman mask during game
Kelce got in the Halloween spirit by wearing a Batman mask. Players tend to express themselves using fashion before or after the game, but Kelce wanted to make a statement during the game.
Kelce raises money for autism
Kelce is known for giving back, and one way he gave back this year was running a 5k to raise money for autism. He jokingly noted that he may not have been the fastest, or even close to the fastest, person at the event.
He posted on social media that "ran" is "a generous verb for what occurred," adding that he "had a blast."
Kelce records Christmas albums
Kelce, along with some of his teammates, recorded a Christmas album that has Mariah Carey and Michael Buble shaking. He even did a duet with brother Travis. Not every center has pipes like this.
Kelce plays in an orchestra
Sticking with the music theme here. Hearing "Fly Eagles Fly" played by an orchestra with Kelce performing alongside them must have been quite the experience for these Philly fans, who happily sang and clapped along with the team song.
His retirement speech
For a man who has given many great speeches, his retirement speech had a lot to live up to. Like all of Kelce's speeches, it gave us some humor, emotion and, of course, lots of love for the game of football, the city of Philadelphia and his family.