The sudden demise of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl hopes, followed by a solid regular season, turned attention to the possibility of center Jason Kelce’s retirement. While fans speculate about what Kelce will do next, he has been in the news for hanging out with his family and enjoying his brother Travis Kelce’s recent championship win.
With retirement rumors swirling around Kelce, NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal has shared his thoughts on the situation, advising Kelce to consider a different approach than the one he chose.
Shaq’s retirement advice to Jason Kelce
Amidst swirling reports about Jason Kelce’s potential retirement from football, Shaquille O’Neal, who has already retired from his playing career, shared heartfelt advice for Kelce during an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq.
O’Neal began by advising Kelce to embrace retirement wholeheartedly and to cherish the time spent with his family.
“My advice to you is if you are going to retire, accept it, [and] enjoy your family brother,” O’Neal said.
The former NBA star then urged the Eagles’ center to appreciate the blessings of having a loving spouse and children. While candidly admitting to making mistakes in the past that led to the loss of his family, O’Neal shared the significance of family over material possessions or career achievements.
“I made a lot of dumb mistakes to where I lost my family and I didn’t have anybody. That’s not the case for you. So enjoy your beautiful wife. Enjoy your beautiful kids, and never dwell on what we had. What we had is what we got. You got the ring. People know who you are. Enjoy. Because again, I was an idiot and I’ve talked about it a long time. I lost my whole family. I’m in a 100,000 square foot house by myself.”
The NBA legend decided to retire in 2011 when he was experiencing a challenging period in his personal life regarding the dissolution of his marriage, per Fox News. Unfortunately, his retirement coincided with the unraveling of his home life, leading to a divorce from his wife, with whom he shares five children.
Meanwhile, Jason Kelce is blessed with a supportive and enduring relationship with his wife, Kylie Kelce, and the joy of raising three children together. Recognizing Kelce’s stable family life, Shaq cautioned him not to replicate the mistakes that had led to the breakdown of his own family after retirement.
Jason Kelce contemplates retirement
The retirement rumors surrounding Jason Kelce gained momentum after Adam Schefter reported that Kelce had shared thoughts of his potential retirement with his teammates following a disappointing playoff loss. However, in a recent appearance on The Big Podcast, the Philadelphia Eagles center acknowledged his uncertainty about this significant career move.
“I think I’ll have an answer in the next couple weeks,” he said.
The 13-season vet continued to share the emotional toll of the season’s end while emphasizing the need for time to reflect on whether he still harbors the desire to continue playing.
“I think if I still want to play, I’m going to play,” Kelce said. “I think right now we’re not far enough away from the last game. It’s emotional, it’s a long season, the end of the season quite frankly, awful. So I’m just going to take some time, rest, recoup and then figure it out.”
In a prior interview on the ‘Green Light with Chris Long’ podcast, Kelce delved into the complex emotions surrounding retirement, describing it as a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
Amidst the retirement contemplation, rumors swirled regarding Kelce’s recent meeting with Amazon, sparking speculation about a potential collaboration for their Thursday Night Football coverage.
This development suggests that he may be exploring alternative career opportunities as he is still in doubt about his future move in the NFL.
