The Philadelphia Eagles center sparked speculation about his future with the NFL last month.
As Jason Kelce continues to play coy about a potential retirement, he's gleaning some insight from friends about life after football.
On Wednesday's pre-taped episode of his New Heights podcast -- which was recorded ahead of Super Bowl LVIII while his co-host and brother, Travis Kelce, was busy preparing for the game -- Jason welcomed his former Philadelphia Eagles teammates, Beau Allen and Chris Long, for a wide-ranging chat. Among the topics discussed between the trio, who won the Vince Lombardi trophy together in 2018, was Beau and Chris' respective experiences after retiring from the NFL.
"Let's move on to post career -- retirement," Jason says toward the end of their interview.
"Yeah, let's talk retirement, Kelce," teases Beau.
"Just for you two," Jason quips. "What's it been like since hanging it up? How is it different?"
Beau, who retired in 2022, admits that "it is different."
"You don't have the intensity of football and that's something that's been a little bit of an adjustment," he explains. "The other thing about football is your failures and successes are measured in such a black and white way and that's something you get so accustomed to as a player and it's not like that in the real world."
He adds, "I'm just trying to live and spend as much time with friends and family, catch up on travel, and hang out with you guys at the Super Bowl and do stuff like that that you can't do when you're playing because you're so committed to training and getting your body right and things like that. That's what's been fun for me is just to kinda do things in a completely different way and live my life in a way that I was never able to live while I was playing."
The 32-year-old former nose tackle notes that he's lost a substantial amount of weight since hanging up his pads.
"I was 335 pounds up until a couple years ago," he shares, revealing that he now weighs in at 278 lbs.
"Wow," a shocked Jason replies.
"I'm sure whenever you decide to retire Kelce, you lose that weight, you have so much more energy man," he says. "It's nice to not feel so f**king fat and sweaty and sloppy all the time."
Chris, 38, chimes in, "Then you get old. Which hasn't happened to you yet."
But for Beau, the hardest part of retirement has been missing the camaraderie of being on a team.
"You talk to any guy that's retired and ask them what they miss about the game, if they don't say the guys in the locker room they're a f**king phoney," he says.
"You can get in a big room full of people and fill your cup socially but we're different in a way. We just are, and I think that's the hardest thing," Chris, who retired in 2019, agrees.
"It's a huge existential crisis," he admits. "Whether you think you're ready or not, your life changes."
The former defensive end explains that he misses "the hard stuff" that comes with playing professional football.
"You need to be challenged and f**king life is not as hard, and I think that's where guys struggle," he says. "It's hard to find that s**t, so good luck."
Since leaving the game, Chris has gone on to create and host the Green Light Podcast, and run The Chris Long Foundation charity. He's also a panelist on Inside the NFL. For his part, Beau co-hosts a podcast called Fax and The King, which is produced under Chris' Yote House media umbrella.
Kelce sparked speculation that he may be considering retirement during the final game of the Philadelphia Eagles' latest NFL season, as the team suffered a tough season ending loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January. The beloved 36-year-old athlete was seen becoming visibly emotional, fighting back tears both during and after the game. According to a report from ESPN, Jason indicated to his teammates that he planned to retire in the postgame locker room.
Days later, Jason addressed the noise on New Heights and said that he hadn't officially made a decision about his future with the team.
"People can kind of feel body language and stuff," he admitted at the time.
"I just don't think you're in a position after a game like that to really make that decision. I just don't," he shared. "There's too much emotion in the moment, there's too much going down in the moment to really fully grasp that decision. I'm not trying to be dramatic and continue to draw this thing out. I'm really not. It's just something that I think, when it's time to officially announce what's happening in the future, it'll be done in a way that's definitive and pays respect to a lot of people and individuals that have meant a lot to me and what has led to the career I've had. And, you know, I don't think that it would be respectful or even accurate to be able to do that right after a game like that."
Jason said he felt "frustrated" by the way his team's 2023-2024 season fell apart and that he did offer remarks to his teammates after their final game.
"I did address the team," he shared. "'I believe in every single one of you guys. Cherish the moments you have in this league.'"
He continued, "A lot of guys [said], 'If that is your last game, I feel sorry for you.' I'm like, 'Don't feel sorry for me, mother f**ker. I had a f**king..."
Jason trailed off and became emotional, pausing for some deep breaths while choking back tears. Offering his support, Travis also emotionally said, "Hell yeah, brother," while Jason collected himself.
"Either way, I just truly appreciated everybody in that room," Jason continued. "I think there was a lot of emotion in that room, for sure. So, I don't know what the future holds for anybody in that building right now. We're about to get into I guess what happens down the stretch."
Jason has served as a starter with the Eagles since his first professional season in 2011, after he was drafted by the team in the sixth round. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the best NFL centers of all time.
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