Jason Kelce

BIOGRAPHY

Jason Kelce was born on November 5, 1987, in Westlake, Ohio. He is a center in the National Football League.

Kelce attended Cleveland Heights High School, where he played both running back and linebacker and was twice named All-Lake Erie-Lake League. Kelce switched to fullback and then finally to the offensive line after redshirting his initial year at Cincinnati, seeing action at center and guard in nine games in 2007 as the Bearcats went 10-3 and defeated Southern Mississippi 31-21 in the PapaJohns.com Bowl. During his sophomore year in 2008, he made 13 starts at left guard, as part of an offensive line that also included future NFL linemen Jeff Linkenbach and Trevor Canfield, which helped the UC offense averaged 27.3 points and 375.3 yards of total offense per game. During his junior season in 2009, Kelce earned second-team All-Big East honors after starting 13 games at left guard as the Bearcats went undefeated in the regular season (12-0) and were again Big East Champions, once again earning a BCS Bowl berth, losing to Florida 51-24 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. He started the final 38 games of his 47-game Bearcats' career, 26 at left guard and 12 as a center. He was named Honorable Mention All-America and second-team All-Big East.

The Philadelphia Eagles selected Kelce in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year contract on July 27. In 2012, Kelce was named the starting center for the second consecutive year. Kelce had an outstanding 2013 season, starting all 16 games and helping the team reach the playoffs. He helped the Eagles score a team-record 442 points and 6,676 yards.

On February 27, 2014, Kelce agreed to a six-year contract extension. In 2015, Kelce started in all 16 games. Pro Football Focus graded him as the 7th ranked center in the NFL. In 2016, Kelce started in all 16 games and was selected to his second Pro Bowl. On March 2, 2019, Kelce signed a one-year contract extension with the Eagles through the 2021 season. On March 11, after mulling retirement before the 2022 offseason, Kelce signed a new one-year deal with the Eagles worth $14 million, which made him the highest paid center in the NFL.

He is the older brother of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Jason played hockey in high school while brother Travis played basketball He, along with former Eagle Beau Allen, appeared in the Super Bowl LII-themed episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "Charlie's Home Alone", in Charlie Kelly's imagination.