Now streaming on Prime Video is Kelce, a documentary about Philadelphia Eagles' center Jason Kelce on and off the field during the 2022 season, where his team has incredible success but he debates whether the season is going to be his last.
As a die hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, this documentary was right up my alley. I fully admit I may be biased, but Jason Kelce is one of the most entertaining figures in the NFL — playing one of the most unrecognized positions in the game, Kelce has become a beloved figure in the city of Philadelphia and someone who is even known outside of Eagles fandom. Part of that is from the story of he and his brother Travis Kelce both playing against each other in the Super Bowl in 2022 and their popular podcast, New Heights, but it is also the bigger-than-life personality that Kelce embodies.
My love for Jason Kelce as an Eagles fan was already sky high as the All-Pro (and possibly Hall of Fame) player helped bring the first Super Bowl title to Philadelphia — then gave a speech for the ages dressed in a Mummers costume. But the Kelce documentary showed another side to him that gave me a greater appreciation for Kelce not just as a player, but as a thoughtful and passionate person.
Here are six Kelce documentary moments that made me love Jason Kelce even more.
Looking for his Super Bowl ring
"If I were a Super Bowl ring, where would I be," Jason Kelce asks himself early in the documentary. We all have had moments where we can't find the TV remote, our keys or something else that we should not have misplaced (which Kelce also does quite frequently according to his wife Kylie), but your one and only Super Bowl ring may be in the top five things you never want to lose.
The great thing about this moment is that Kelce is not frantic about it, he's just calmly looking through his house, hoping that something will spark his memory about where he left it. It's an early moment in the documentary that shows that Kelce can be both a forgetful goofball and at the same time someone who isn't going to overreact.
The documentary never reveals if he found the Super Bowl ring; we sure hope he did.
Gardening with Travis
The fact that Jason and Travis Kelce have become two of the best players in the NFL (both made this year's NFL.com Top 100 players list) and then became the first pair of brothers to ever face off in the Super Bowl is an incredible story; one that was heavily played up in advance of the game. The documentary doesn't shy away from highlighting the strong and meaningful bond that the brothers have either, particularly when it comes to the kind of mentor Jason was to Travis as he had some issues in high school and college.
But the best moments come when the two show off the typical brother dynamic of them giving each other crap. That's been one of the defining elements of their podcast, New Heights, but in Kelce that is highlighted when Jason and Travis are gardening together (gardening being something that Jason is considering taking up more whenever he retires). Jason goading Travis about how long it took him to get his credits to graduate and the fact that he still missed his flight to attend the ceremony is classic brother dynamics.
Hugging Donna Kelce post Super Bowl
Jason Kelce is not a small man. ESPN has him listed as 6-foot 3-inches and 295 pounds. And anyone who has watched him play knows he is one of the toughest, most athletic players on any field he plays on. But even big men can cry, as we saw when Kelce met his mom, Donna Kelce, on the field after the Eagles lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs.
Donna Kelce became a star in her own right in the build-up to the Super Bowl, with many media outlets highlighting the role that she played in raising two great football players and how she is going to handle cheering for both of her sons as they play against each other. But she was quickly there to console Jason after the game, who let his emotions come out a bit when the two hugged and he began to cry.
Despite Kelce's size and big beard, it's hard not to feel emotional for the guy as he shares a sad moment with his mom. Even so, after they hug, Kelce tells Donna to go celebrate with Travis and enjoy this moment that their family has earned.
Kelce family play-time
One of the best things about the Kelce documentary is getting to know the rest of the Kelce family, particularly Jason's wife Kylie and his two daughters, Wyatt and Ellie. Seeing Kelce play with his kids and have both fantastic and frustrating household interactions with his wife really shows a side of a football player we don't get to see often.
My personal favorite moment came after the Super Bowl. We just saw how emotional Kelce was after losing the game, but he doesn't let that impact him spending time with his girls, even if one of them decides she needs to remind him that "Uncle Travie" won and not him.
The fan debate
Philadelphia Eagles fans are notoriously boisterous, demanding and (to be honest about my own ilk) tough to deal with. But Jason Kelce has fully embraced them — he even married one as Kylie details her own Eagles fandom during the documentary. Yet when I talk about the fan debate that happens in the documentary, I'm not talking about Eagles fans. Instead I'm referring to the argument that Jason and Kylie get into over whether or not he should bring a portable fan to the hospital as Kylie gives birth to their third daughter.
Throughout the 2022 season Kylie was pregnant and even had to fly her OB-GYN out to the Super Bowl as it was just before her due date. Thankfully, the baby didn't arrive at the big game and they could prepare for the delivery at home. On the down side of that, at least for Kylie, Jason was perhaps a bit more involved in the packing.
It seems he was trying to be considerate by bringing the fan (one that Kylie had got him to use at training camp) to help cool Kylie down during labor, but she was not interested. She jokingly threatened to hurt him if he brought it. Best course of action would have likely been to listen to your wife who is about to give birth, but Jason takes the fan with them and the documentary is sure to show that it was in the room after the third Kelce baby girl was born.
Kelce's emotional speech about retiring
The question of whether or not Jason Kelce would retire following the 2022 season and what his post-football life would be like is a central idea of the doc. We see him talk with former Eagles players about how they knew when to call it a career, try a few different things that could help him fill his time after football and openly acknowledge the health risks football may cause, particularly the impact concussions and the brain disease CTE could have on him later in life.
After the Super Bowl and the birth of his third daughter, it's finally time for Kelce to make a decision. He goes over his process directly with the documentary crew in an emotional and incredible speech that may end up being the big moment fans take away from the movie.
Kelce admits the night before he went to bed ready to play another season, but waking up he had some doubts, saying "Man, I can't f***ing do this again," fully admitting the aches (even a month after the Super Bowl) and mental fortitude of another season seemed impossible to him.
"Every logical thing is telling me I should stop playing football. I tear my body apart, what the f*** is the purpose for any of this stuff for like a game," said Kelce. "But the f***ing jolt you get. Everyday you're fighting, every day you're trying to win the rep in the weight room, win the play on the field. So much of this like competitive fire, fighting for your worth, it's f***ing hard, it's really hard to do that. But man it keeps you alive, it f***ing, it keeps the juices f***ing going. And, uh, you know… that's what I've been worried about is sitting at home and not f***ing having that. I have no doubt I can be a loving father, I have no doubt that I can be successful, but where am I going to get that, where am I going to f***ing… where I'm going to be the best in the world at what I f***ing do, and not because of anything other than I go out there and earn it."
As most fans already knew and the documentary then showed, Kelce did decide to return for his 13th NFL season with the Eagles. But this moment shows the struggle and the thought that Kelce had in his decision, which makes cheering him on that much easier.
NOTE: Jason Kelce announced his retirement from the NFL on March 4, 2024, after his 13th season in the league.
You can now watch Kelce exclusively on Prime Video.
