Jason Kelce has admitted the prospect of retiring from football makes him anxious and he fears becoming depressed whenever he finally steps away from the game he loves.
Kelce reportedly told his Philadelphia Eagles team he is retiring after they went out in the playoffs to Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January but since then, has stopped short of an official announcement and hinted he may change his mind.
Now, speaking on the Green Light podcast in Las Vegas – hosted by his former Eagles teammate Chris Long – Kelce opened up on his fears about how life after football may look for him.
‘It’s exciting to think about possibilities, it’s exciting to be able to lose weight, feel good and not have to physically fight for my life every day,’ Kelce, 36, said. ‘It’s also daunting. It’s anxiety. At the end of the day, it’s the unknown.
‘People ask if you get nervous for games but the only games I get nervous for are the first time – you don’t know what is in store. Ironically it makes you play better, it makes your senses alive. But that is kind of where it is at when you start thinking about retirement.
Jason Kelce has admitted the prospect of retiring from football makes him feel anxious
Kelce reportedly told his team he was retiring when they lost in the playoffs but now is unsure
Jason, 36, pictured alongside his wife, Kylie, and their three young children
‘It is exciting, the possibilities. All of us were fortunate, we can go in a lot of different areas. But that is also very nerve-wracking, you don’t know what you are going to like until you are doing it. You don’t know what you are going get fulfilment in until you are doing it, you don’t know what you are going to be great at until you are doing it.
‘All that stuff is also in the back of your head. No matter how you handle it, no matter who you are, how well prepared you are to enter the next stage, everybody goes through a level of depression, really.
‘The end of one of the things you love most in your life is there and you are going to have to come to grips with that.
‘You might be struggling and you don’t know it. I feel like you might be struggling in football but you get that win, that little shot, dopamine, like “I got it”. I’m a big ‘hit’ guy.’
Kelce underlined his belief that the Eagles are set for a big year next season and that he is trying not to be swayed by how good the team is.
‘I’m trying not to let that impact what is happening,’ he said. ‘I really want the decision on whether I am going to play to be based on whether I want to do it.
‘Selfishly, I need to make that decision. Can I commit? Can I mentally be there? And do I want to endure that again? Winning helps that but you’re trying not to factor that into the decision.
‘There’s a feeling you get, the closer you get to stopping playing, where you grasp what the team means to the fans, to the city.
Jason has been cheering brother Travis on since his own Eagles season came to an end
Kelce went wild in Buffalo cheering Travis – ripping his shirt off and downing beers with fans
‘You grasp it when you are younger but the more you play the more you realize it is something everybody is going to miss when you stop.’
Kelce will cheer his brother Travis on in the Super Bowl in Vegas on Sunday and has been to every Chiefs playoff game since the Eagles season came to an end.
He went wild cheering Travis on in Buffalo against the Bills in January – the first time he met his girlfriend Taylor Swift – and jumped out the window of their VIP suite shirtless after he scored his first of two touchdowns.
The following week, when the Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens to reach the Super Bowl, an emotional Kelce admitted he wanted to continue as he spoke exclusively to DailyMail.Com.
‘Whenever you’re around this atmosphere, man, it’s really hard to not want to continue doing this,’ he said.
‘The game continues to be difficult to play – selfishly, physically. It’s a grueling sport and it has its problems with trying to play it the older you get… (but) it’s hard. It’s really hard. I’ll be honest with you.’
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