Jason Kelce opens up on ‘New Heights’ podcast about his sleeveless shirt, what’s next, and that Nick Foles line

Jason Kelce opened up more about the end of his Eagles career, but this time he held back the tears.

A day after delivering a retirement speech for the ages, Kelce sat down in Philadelphia with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, to record the latest episode of their popular podcast New Heights.

Much like his retirement speech, it took a while before Kelce started speaking about the decision to hang up his cleats after 13 NFL seasons, all with the Eagles. He called the weeks before his remarks “nerve-racking,” drawing on notes he’s compiled over his career to craft the emotional, 40-minute speech that left family, fans, and even sports radio talkers in tears.

During the podcast, Travis Kelce choked back tears talking about the impact seeing his big brother succeeding in the NFL had on him, reaching for the Kleenex a couple of times.

» READ MORE: Jason Kelce’s retirement speech, annotated and explained

“I’m sorry, I would be crying more, but I wasted all my tears,” Jason Kelce said to his sobbing brother.

Kelce spoke about how he knew it was time to retire, why he went with a sleeveless shirt for the announcement, that the Nick Foles line that everyone is still talking about.

Despite having publicly expressed uncertainty, Kelce said he knew the Eagles’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs would be the final time he suited up for the team.

Even though he was selected for his seventh Pro Bowl last season, Kelce said it had become clear he couldn’t physically compete at the level he wants to at 36 years old.

» READ MORE: Jason Kelce’s humanity made him a Hall of Famer for the Eagles, Philly — and the media

“My elbow, my knees, it’s gotten to the point where the deterioration and the recovery from that deterioration hasn’t really manifested on game day yet, but it’s going to start,” Kelce said, “I’m really hard on myself, and if I go out there and I’m not the player I want to be, it’ll crush me.”

“The physical portion is at a point that it’s not a desire to continue to do, and it’s not something I think I can do and be happy about it,” Kelce added.

No one expected Kelce to announce his retirement wearing a suit and tie, but the Eagles center did garner some attention by going with a sleeveless shirt.

While the look was certainly casual, Kelce had a reason for picking that shirt.

“This is a shirt that has holes in it, and I’ve worn in practice and every year I’ve lifted weights in it,” Kelce said. “And I’m like, you know what, this shirt in some ways was a part of this journey with me, more than anything else in this closet.”

It wasn’t surprising that Kelce wore flip-flops on his final day as an Eagle. But he also asked longtime Eagles trainer Joe O’Pella, who has cancer, to tape his feet before walking out.

“He wasn’t able to tape me for any of the games this year, and he’s taped my ankles my whole career, so he taped my ankles for the news conference one last time,” Kelce said. “So I had ankle tape on with sandals.”

In a lengthy social media post, O’Pella said he missed Kelce’s final game because he was getting chemotherapy, and praised the Eagles center for offering him comfort, support, and even the use of his Jersey Shore beach house during his cancer treatment.

“You all know about the on-field accomplishments, and many of the off-field ones, too, but what this man has meant to me and now my family over the past decade plus is nearly indescribable,” O’Pella wrote.

Kelce mentioned a number of teammates and coaches in his speech, including Nick Sirianni, Doug Pederson, and Jalen Hurts. But it was a colorful remark about former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles that garnered the most attention.

To rewind, it’s a bit of an urban legend in Philadelphia that Foles is well-endowed. In 2014, former Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin let it slip during a Reddit AMA. As a result, “Big dick Nick” became one of the slogans attached to the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory, right alongside “Philly Special” and “hungry dogs run faster.”

Kelce said this piece of Eagles anatomy trivia become so “legendary” he felt the need to include it, especially because it’s tied up with the Philly Special, one of the most iconic plays in Super Bowl history. But he texted Foles first to make sure it was OK to include the phrase in the retirement speech.

“Of course, he was like, ‘Yeah, you can tell everyone,’” Kelce recalled. “But the surprising one was when he said, ‘I asked Tori,’ his wife, and Tori gave the OK. That was the surprising part.”

Kelce didn’t break news about what’s next for his career, other than continuing his New Heights podcast.

The brothers are shopping around the podcast now, according to Bloomberg, and one analyst says it could fetch as much as $100 million. That would top the $81.7 million Kelce made from his Eagles salary during his 13-year career, according to Spotrac.

In addition to the podcast, Kelce has also shown interest in becoming an NFL broadcaster. Leading up to the Super Bowl, Kelce met with executives at the major television networks and Amazon about opportunities, though those talks were preliminary.

He already has a relationship with Amazon, thanks to the Kelce documentary. He also served as a guest studio analyst on Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football last season, and with three young children, the tech giant’s Thursday night schedule would be appealing. But there could be change coming to CBS’ pregame show, The NFL Today, with veterans Phil Simms, Boomer Esiason, and Bill Cowher reportedly in limbo after their contracts expired following the Super Bowl. That show also films in Manhattan, which is just a short drive from Philadelphia, where Kelce said he plans to remain.

For now, the only thing Kelce said he plans to do is attend more Kansas City Chiefs games.

“You’ve been playing for a long time on your own, and I look forward to being able to appreciate and watch your games more,” Kelce told Travis. “It’s a different chapter, and in some ways I’ll be able to experience more things and do things I’ve never done before, which is exciting.”