Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Even before Jason Kelce retired from the NFL, many knew the future Hall of Famer had a future on television. The success of his “New Heights” podcast highlighted the personality and insight he can bring to fans, now multiple TV networks are reportedly all competing for that talent.
The success of the “New Heights” podcast isn’t the only example of Kelce demonstrating his post-football career was destined to be in sports media. During the 2023 season, he visited the “Thursday Night Football” booth during a game and gelled nicely with Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels.
After retiring at 36 years old, Kelce also has several ongoing business ventures and plans for more in the future. With a long-standing interest in farming, he purchased 10 crossbred cows in Missouri two years ago. He’s also expressed a desire to bring back the beloved video game series “Backyard Sports” and has teased the effort to bring it back to reality in recent episodes of his podcast.
However, his brightest future after a legendary career on the gridiron is as an NFL analyst. Unsurprisingly, multiple networks have reportedly all been competing for him this offseason.
What will Jason Kelce do now after retiring?
According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN’s plans to completely overhaul its “Monday Night Football” pregame show includes a very serious pursuit of Kelce. Unsurprisingly, though, the network is facing significant competition from NBC, CBS and Amazon Prime for Kelce.
The future inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame isn’t the only one ESPN is pursuing. Disney is actively pursuing Bill Belichick, but the legendary coach is uninterested in a specific role. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning’s media company Omaha Productions is also after Belichick for a new show.
Kelce’s decision is reportedly viewed as the “linchpin of the NFL TV free-agency offseason” with CBS determined to completely overhaul its “The NFL Today” crew. However, Amazon also is a stronger player in this for a big reason.
Not only did Kelce appear as a guest on the “Thursday Night Football” broadcast in 2023, he also allowed Amazon to record a documentary about his life during the 2022 season. “Watch Kelce” was extremely popular and the existing relationship between Kelce and the company would seemingly give Amazon as strong of a shot as anyone to land him in this NFL media bidding war. Of course, every network involved will likely want to pursue Travis Kelce when the Kansas City Chiefs tight end retires, potentially after the 2024 season.
