Jason Kelce on his new job as ESPN analyst
Jason Kelce, an already busy man, prepares for a new job as a football analyst for ESPN and tells Mackenzie Salmon what his strengths will be.
Sport in Seriousness
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Kelce can definitely be called a “personality candidate.”
This is why ESPN was ultimately concerned about its broadcast services for the 2024 NFL season.
“He kept asking, ‘What do you expect me to do? What do you want?’ And we said, ‘We just want you to be yourself,'” Seth Markman, ESPN’s vice president of production, told USA TODAY Sports.
Kelce joined the network’s “Monday Night Countdown” desk, along with host Scott Van Pelt and fellow analysts Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark. Each company that broadcasts the NFL set up meetings to try to convince the former Philadelphia Eagles center to join their company because of his engaging personality.
“It’s unique. He dresses differently. He sounds different,” said Markman, who oversees ESPN’s college football and NFL studio programs. “He’s not your run-of-the-mill NFL analyst.”
In fact, wearing a Kelly green Italian tracksuit, Kelce opened Monday’s edition of “Countdown” in style, pumping up a frenetic crowd outside Lincoln Financial Field. As a DJ spun music behind him, Kelce screamed into a microphone – not unlike his brother and podcast co-host Travis, who did after winning Super Bowl 58 – and introduced his former Eagles teammates Fletcher Cox, a fellow first-year retiring player, and Nick Foles, who was honored before Philadelphia hosted the Atlanta Falcons on “MNF.”
“I think people see him as an everyman, really, and they can identify with him,” Markman said. “He’s so likable. And I think that resonates.”
Kelce walked from a stage to the “Countdown” set and high-fived fans as security cleared the way, as he had done for many Eagles ball carriers over the course of his 13-year NFL career. As he took his chair between Spears and Clark, Kelce wiped his head and hands with a blue towel.
“I don’t know if I have any energy left, guys,” he said.
During the show, Kelce spoke hard truths about the Carolina Panthers after the team announced that second-year quarterback Bryce Young would be benched. He made a comment about how a referee who showed outstanding athleticism on Justin Jefferson’s 97-yard touchdown on Sunday should have Next Gen Stats. The six-time All-Pro turned and waved to fans who chanted his name and held up his No. 62 jersey during a commercial and intermission.
“This city is incredible, man,” Kelce said during the show. “It really is. It’s so unique.”
To make room for Kelce on “Countdown,” the network parted ways with Robert Griffin III, who was let go for financial reasons. Chemistry concerns always exist when a new voice joins a show, Markman said. Kelce’s current popularity, which is at an all-time high thanks to his podcast and his brother Travis’ romance with Taylor Swift, may have complicated things. Markman brought up the possibility of adding Kelce to the “Countdown” crew, and he said they were open to his inclusion.
“He draws a lot of attention, especially here,” Markman said. “But these guys are so selfless and they realize that having him involved helps the show.”
During the third quarter of Monday’s game, Kelce will be in the ESPN announce booth to commentate on the game alongside commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Kelce had expressed interest in trying it out, and an Eagles home game made sense, Markman said. The goal is to keep the experiment from sounding like a celebrity interview.
“Because who knows where this could lead one day? I think he could be really good at this,” Markman said. “I think he could be good at anything he wants to do.”
For now, “Countdown” fits Kelce’s lifestyle, but he may want to commentate on games one day, Markman said.
All other networks would have loved to hire Kelce in some capacity. At Kelce’s first meeting with ESPN, he expressed what “MNF” meant to him and his brother growing up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
“I thought that gave us a little bit of a leg up, the relationships and his attitude toward our brand,” Markman said. “Honestly, I knew all the other networks were in. And you don’t know. You hope and hope and try to convince — I had a good feeling, but not like, ‘This is a sure thing.’ When his agent called and told us the good news, it was an incredible feeling.”
Kelce’s signing is part of ESPN’s efforts to strengthen the star power behind the “MNF” brand in recent years. The “Manningcast” with Peyton and Eli Manning became an instant success in the 2021 season. The move of Buck and Aikman from FOX to “MNF” ended the search for a reputable booth. In 2024, Bill Belichick will be there for every episode of the “Manningcast.”
“I think we’ve tried very hard to say, ‘This is our most important property, this is Monday Night Football,’ and we’re going to put the biggest and best names on this property,” Markman said. “So the addition of Bill and Jason this year makes us feel even better – it’s important to us.”
