In an emotional and enthusiastic speech at Philadelphia Eagles training camp, the retired center shared his perspective on what it takes to succeed in the league.
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“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence — talent will not,” the retired Eagles center, 36, told the team in a video posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday, July 22 before players were officially required to report to the NovaCare Complex on July 23 and attend their first practice on July 24.:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(952x284:954x286):format(webp)/jason-kelce-012024-b132788220f64ef4aff1a4f02c2c0107.jpg)
He continued, “I was a walk-on coming out of high school. They told me I wasn’t good enough. So I got drafted and everyone said I was too small, I didn’t have what it takes.”
Yet the University of Cincinnati alum went on to earn a starting spot on the team. And for 13 seasons, he never looked back, arguably becoming one of the greatest centers to play the game.
In March, Kelce announced his retirement from the sport. But in an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE in June, he revealed that he been mulling over the decision for a long time.
“I’ll be very honest, the last four years I’ve wanted to retire at the end of seasons,” Kelce said. “The reality is it’s really hard to get there. And even after we lost the Super Bowl, I wanted to come back and play for another Super Bowl. But imagining another 17 games on top of playoffs and coming back was very difficult to envision being able to do.”
In a lengthy, 40-minute speech at the Philadelphia Eagles Training Center at the NovaCare Complex on March 4, he reminisced about his love of the game, which began when he was a boy in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Kelce also shared memories from his childhood, college and NFL career.
Now, the retired athlete is poised to forge a new path as a pitchman and as a broadcaster on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown.
But all of his career accomplishments are still fresh on his mind — as are his thoughts on pursuing excellence. “We are all so much better than you f—ing realize,” he told his former teammates this week. “The human mind is f—ing incredible Everyone here is here for a f—ing reason, I promise you.”