Jason Kelce Joining ESPN's 'Monday Night Countdown,' per Report

The longtime Philadelphia Eagles center is signing with the ESPN for the next stage of his career.

Jason Kelce / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Kelce retired from the NFL earlier this year, but he isn't straying very far from the game of football.

On Monday, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported the longtime Philadelphia Eagles center would be joining the Monday Night Countdown desk as part of ESPN's NFL coverage. It brings to an end a sweepstakes for Kelce's services in the sports media world. Marchand reported Kelce was highly sought by several networks in the months following his retirement.

His popularity makes sense. Kelce has always been a well-regarded personality but his popularity exploded over the last year. His brother, Travis, started dating Taylor Swift, which put the entire Kelce clan in a gigantic and extremely bright spotlight. The podcast the two host together, New Heights, has become must-watch content for Kelce fans (and news aggregators) everywhere. Jason nearly made himself as big a star as Travis during the playoffs, bombing around shirtless in Buffalo and celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl win like it was his own.

Kelce ultimately checks a lot of boxes for any prospective sports media personality. He is a well-known name after 13 NFL seasons with a Hall of Fame pedigree. He's personable, funny, and good for a viral quote. The former center might be at the peak of his general popularity right now but he'll be a household name for the forseeable future.

ESPN must be pleased with the acquisition, which comes on the heels of the news that Bill Belichick will likely be a central figure in the network's football coverage in 2024. A few big names for ESPN to build off next year, and potentially the long-term.