Jason Kelce made his NFL Countdown debut in true Jason Kelce fashion after arriving from the Paris Olympics.
The former Philadelphia Eagles center retired from the NFL in March after 13 seasons and a Super Bowl victory. A month after hanging up his cleats, Kelce inked a three-year deal with ESPN that pays him $1.8million annually to join the NFL program.
On Thursday, the highly-beloved NFL legend made his highly-awaited debut with Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, and Marcus Spears. Having flown from the Paris games, Kelce still embraced the Olympic spirit – wearing a beret with his suit.
‘I’m still on Paris time so I had to go with the Paris headdress,’ Kelce said after his fellow panelist asked about his outfit.
On Tuesday, Kelce was spotted in the French capital supporting Team USA across several competitions.
With his wife, Kylie, Kelce witnessed as Simone Biles and the USA women’s gymnastics team captured gold in team competition. They also supported the women’s rugby sevens team as they secured a podium finish.
After a long day of supporting their countrymen at the games, Kylie posted a hilarious clip of Jason on her Instagram story. The video shows her husband looking spent on a chair, gripping a stack of cups in one hand and his phone in the other while holding a rugby ball and a miniature volleyball between his left forearm and torso.
Jason Kelce joins NFL Countdown rocking a souvenir from the Paris Games pic.twitter.com/5gs5gnNpWY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 1, 2024
Kelce also sported a USA hat, a rugby jersey with the athletes’ signatures, and a button-down draped in American colors and Maher’s face printed in different places.
‘Yes, that’s @ilonamaher on his shirt,’ Kylie captioned. ‘When you finally sit down after all the excitement…’
Furthermore, his new colleagues teased Kelce about wearing underwear after he revealed that he does not enjoy the discomfort of undergarments.
‘I find it unnecessary and problematic to the freedom that my boys like to enjoy. If that is going to change… I don’t think that is going to change,’ Kelce said on an episode of New Heights.
However, when Clark joked about Kelce changing his ways due to his new profession, Kelce ran with the bit, saying: ‘That’s new. Well, it’s a grey suit – if I don’t wear it, it’s risky.’
