In Orlando this weekend for his seventh Pro Bowl, Philadelphia Eagles star offensive lineman Jason Kelce brought his two daughters onto the field for a special moment. Cameras captured the veteran center running around and swinging his daughters in his arms like a one-man rollercoaster. They also took full advantage of the on-field obstacle course.
All Pro Bowls represent a special honor for NFL players but this one holds extra significance for Kelce. It could potentially be his last one after a 13-year career.
All of the NFL fandom, but especially Eagles fans, are anxiously awaiting Kelce’s official decision on his future. Following Philadelphia’s loss in the playoffs, reports surfaced that the six-time first-team All-Pro would retire this offseason.
Kelce considering post-playing career options
Whether he retires this year or not, Kelce has had a lucrative career, and that will continue with his New Heights podcast that he hosts with his brother, Travis Kelce. This week, the center revealed he’s explored the idea of reviving the cult-favorite children’s game, “Backyard Sports.”
“Oh, dude — I don’t even know if I want to mention this, because I’ve secretly been looking into seeing if anyone holds the rights to ‘Backyard Football’ and ‘Backyard Baseball,’” Kelce said. “Because I want to buy it and get this thing going again. That was the best game ever. It was so electric. Imagine playing ‘Backyard Football’ right now on your phone because you could do that whole thing on your phone. It wasn’t that complicated.”
“Backyard Sports,” the iconic gaming series, released its first game in 1997. “Backyard Baseball” was the first release, with “Backyard Basketball,” “Backyard Football,” “Backyard Soccer” and ‘Backyard Hockey” following in later years. The gaming franchise released its final console game, “Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush,” in 2010. “Backyard Baseball” and “Backyard Basketball” also released to IOS and Android devices in 2015. However, the gaming series hasn’t released any new content since.
Kelce hasn’t made a decision one way or another on his future, but he did tell The Philadelphia Inquirer that he hopes to stay involved with the Eagles after he hangs up his cleats.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen for me, but I do know I still want to be involved in the organization and still want to be a part of it — regardless of what the decision is,” Kelce told The Inquirer. “Because I don’t want to ever feel like I’m on the outside looking in on these achievements and these accolades and these opportunities that largely represent entire cities and fan bases and organizations.”
On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report.
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