With Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce reportedly announcing his retirement to his team Monday night, his brother Travis is now the last Kelce standing.
The pair are super close. They attended the same college in the University of Cincinnati and they host a popular podcast together. Travis says he wears 87 as an homage to Jason, who was born in 1987.
Jason also often vouched for Travis, who was allegedly considered somewhat of a headcase very early in his career, as he was suspended for a season in Cincinnati for smoking marijuana. The elder Kelce put in a good word with his former and Travis’ current coach, Andy Reid, apparently encouraging Reid to select Travis in the 2013 NFL Draft.
So how the hell did they end up so different?
One of these guys was a finalist for sexiest man alive and the other is dating Taylor Swift. pic.twitter.com/kpVinqD4fD
— Zach Blandford (@zachblandford) November 12, 2023
Jason is a center, arguably the position in the NFL that requires the most work while offering the smallest spotlight. Travis is a flashy pass-catching tight end, who even before his Taylor Swift era, was no stranger to the limelight. (RELATED: Jason Kelce Announces Retirement After Philadelphia Eagles’ End-Of-Season Collapse: REPORT)
Jason is 2 inches shorter and 30 pounds heavier with a big burly beard and a stocky offensive lineman’s body. Compare that to Travis, who rocks a sleek, stylish look with a super-trimmed beard and an always-tight fade and can often be seen sporting glimmering diamond earrings.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 03: NFL Player Travis Kelce attends the NFL Honors at University of Minnesota on February 3, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Christopher Polk/Getty Images
The pair are a fascinating case study on the concept of nature vs. nurture. You can even hear it in the way they talk.
The Ohio natives were born two years apart and attended the same high school. Yet, if you listen to them speak, one sounds like he was raised on a farm in the back country and the other like he grew up on the mean streets of the inner city.
One Twitter user hilariously poked fun at this concept, tweeting, “Why does Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce sound so different like one is cosplaying a black ethnic person? Is Travis the Chet Hanks of the family?”
Why does Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce sound so different like one is cosplaying a black ethnic person? Is Travis the Chet Hanks of the family?
— JANEE RAE💋 (@Still_Bourgeois) February 13, 2023
The pair also take markedly different approaches to their off-the-field careers. While they’ve both made some nice money in endorsement deals, Jason’s have been significantly lower profile. With deals with brands like Old Spice and Dial Soap, Jason seemingly chooses to play up his likeability and the general zaniness he displayed in the now-infamous Mummer’s costume Super Bowl parade speech.
Jason wanted to be “prudent with his personal brand even though he could parlay his local identity as a beer-chugging, truth-telling, tough-minded teddy bear into any number of get-rich-quick schemes,” according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – JANUARY 07: Jason Kelce #62 of the Philadelphia Eagles directs his team during the first half in the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on January 07, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – JANUARY 15: Ryan Jensen #66 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers talks with Jason Kelce #62 of the Philadelphia Eagles after the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Raymond James Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Travis, meanwhile, has become the poster boy for Pfizer, Bud Light, Experian, State Farm and a ton of other brands, leveraging his fame and notoriety in a massively concentrated publicity campaign. He’s been so heavily plastered into the culture that even his own agents have wondered aloud if he’s been overexposed.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JUNE 15: In this handout image provided by the Kansas City Chiefs, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs pose during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVII Ring Ceremony at Union Station on June 15, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Handout/Kansas City Chiefs via Getty Images)
Years prior, Kelce was featured in an eponymous reality television show, “Catching Kelce,” where the pass-catcher dated women from various states in an apparent attempt to find his soulmate.
The strategy of making Travis the Kim Kardashian of the NFL and intensifying his fame outside of the game takes away from how legendary of a player he is.
The one thing the pair do have in common is that they’re both widely recognized for being a top-three player at their position, if not higher. Travis is arguably the best tight end of all time, Jason is arguably the best center of all time.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – APRIL 02: Travis Kelce attends the 2023 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 02, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for CMT)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 13: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs stiff arms Jalen Ramsey #5 of the Miami Dolphins during the third quarter in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 13, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
Yet, still, Travis’s clout chasing antics has taken away attention from him being the tight end GOAT; he’s more so Mr. Pfizer and Taylor’s boyfriend to many.
Jason goes out as one of the most respected linemen to ever do it.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 08: (L-R) Jason Kelce and Kylie Kelce attend Thursday Night Football Presents The World Premiere of “Kelce” on September 08, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Prime Video)
Jason retires and heads home to his supportive wife, three daughters and two dogs.
I can honestly say I believe we just lost the better Kelce today.