Jason Kelce was showing only a hint of jet lag during his ESPN debut on Thursday. The Philadelphia Eagles alum arrived in style for a special NFL Countdown broadcast, fresh off his trip to Paris to attend the 2024 Olympics with wife Kylie Kelce.
Jason joined co-commenters Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, and Marcus Spears in the studio wearing a smart gray suit with his white shirt left unbuttoned at the collar. On his head, he donned a classic French beret.
“We welcome you to the group, man! I wasn’t sure if you’d wear a tie. I did not know you were going to rock the beret fresh off the plane [from] the Olympics,” Van Pelt began.
“I’m still on Paris time,” Jason quipped. “So I figured I’d go with the Paris headdress.”
Clark chimed in with another note about Jason’s ensemble, adding, “We found out, because it’s TV and he’s now become a different sort of professional, he also wears underwear.”
The joke comes following Jason’s revelation earlier this year, on his New Heights podcast with brother Travis Kelce, that he prefers to go commando. Back in April, he notably referred to undergarments as “unnecessary and problematic.”
“Yeah, it’s new,” Kelce joked on Thursday’s broadcast. “It’s a gray suit. If I’m not wearing [underwear], it’s risky.”
Earlier this year, Jason announced his retirement from the NFL and has since signed on to serve as a sportscaster for ESPN’s Monday Night Football. His first official assignment will be in San Francisco this fall when the 49ers face off against the New York Jets.
In the meantime, Jason has been spending plenty of time out of the house. ET was with the Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer last month at the 2024 American Century Championship in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada, as his brother Travis was gearing up to return for the Kansas City Chiefs training camp.
“I think up until this point it hasn’t been that different for the off-season,” Jason said. “It feels weird that guys are getting ready to go to camp and I’m sure once camp has started, once the games have started, it’s gonna really set in.”
Retired football player Jason Kelce during the second practice round at the ACC Celebrity Golf Championship presented by American Century Investments at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course on July 11, 2024 in Stateline, Nevada. – David Calvert/Getty Images for American Century Investments
Jason and Kylie also jetted off to London recently to attend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour for the first time.
“It was tremendous,” Jason raved to ET.
“She’s so not only talented as a singer, everybody knows that, the performance, the writing, the production, like all of that she does is truly remarkable,” Jason said. “It’s gotta be pretty rare that an artist can really wear all of those hats and it’s impressive to watch it take place.”
He added, “She’s all over the place on that stage, so [it’s] very impressive.”
