February 12, 2025
New Heights/YouTube
Jason and Travis Kelce had a heartfelt conversation about the Eagles' victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX during Wednesday's episode of the 'New Heights' podcast. The brothers also discussed the struggle to make a decision about retirement after the wear and tear of a long NFL career.
The drama and anxiety of Super Bowl LIX was amplified for Jason Kelce, who got caught between allegiances to his brother, Travis, and his former teammates and coaches in Philadelphia. Watching the Eagles dominate the Chiefs in a 40-22 landslide only made the experience harder, Kelce explained on Wednesday's somber and therapeutic episode of the "New Heights" podcast.
"I didn't anticipate the amount of sheer discomfort and frustration that I would have watching the game," Jason told his brother. "I thought I would just kind of be like, 'Ah, you know, I like both of these teams. Whoever wins, may the best team win.' And it just didn't turn into that."
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Heading into the Super Bowl, Jason went out of his way to say he was supporting both his brother and his former team. But no amount of diplomacy seemed to capture his emotions.
"It felt like I couldn't be right," Jason said. "It felt like no matter what I said, some people were going to skew it and say I was rooting for the Eagles. Some people were going to skew it and say I was rooting for the Chiefs or Travis. It sucked."
The struggle to find the right message was apparent after the Eagles won on Sunday night. On X, formerly Twitter, the "New Heights" account made a congratulatory post showing photos of Jason with his former Eagles teammates. The post was quickly removed, seemingly because of backlash from Taylor Swift fans who thought it was insensitive to her boyfriend Travis. Jason later clarified on X that the post — made by a "New Heights" staffer — was taken down because it put unwarranted focus on him.
"I wanted the post to be reflective of the guys who just won, not me," Jason said. "I didn’t win s--- in this one, it felt weird to congratulate this team with a bunch of pictures of me."
In another post on X, Jason explained that he didn't want to oversell his neutrality because he didn't want to convey "pity" toward Travis. But on the podcast Wednesday, Travis said he never questioned Jason's support for him as a brother. He told Jason to stop worrying about what people have to say about him online.
"You're giving these people way ... too much of your effort, too much of your time, too much of your attention," Travis said.
With the Eagles denying the Chiefs a third consecutive championship, Travis called the Super Bowl "a tough pill to swallow" and said he's not rushing to a decision about his future in the NFL. Travis, 35, just finished his 12th season.
"I know everyone wants to know whether or not I'm going to play next year, and right now I'm just kicking everything down the road," Travis said. "I'm kicking every can I can down the road. I'm not making any crazy decisions, but right now the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches."
Jason empathized with his brother's dilemma. His retirement at the end of last season came after he chose to return from a Super Bowl loss, and his battles with his deteriorating health were a prominent part of the "Kelce" documentary that captured his life on and off the field. Even though retirement ended up costing Jason a chance to compete for another Super Bowl victory this season, he said he knew he didn't have the stamina to continue playing.
"It sucks when you get to this point in your career when it becomes harder and harder to do it, and I think there's a physicality that becomes more difficult to manage," Jason said. "There's a mental approach that becomes more difficult to manage because a lot of times, it's stacked on top of the physical discomfort and things that are happening."
Travis acknowledged that he dealt with that type of fatigue this season.
"It was kind of driving me crazy this year," he said. "I think that it happens as you kind of tail off toward the back nine of your career ... as you see yourself or not feel yourself have the same success as you used to have."
Even when Jason came around to praising the Eagles, he struggled with the awkward sense of rubbing it in his brother's face.
"I just think this is such a huge moment for all of these guys that came up short two years ago that were there, and how they built this thing in the two years since," Jason said. "And it makes being a former Eagle extremely proud. And I think for the entire city, it obviously means a lot. Do you want me to cut all of that, Travis? It looks like you're just, like ..."
"Dude, you're allowed to have your world, your legacy, your word," Travis interjected. "You're allowed to have that. You can be happy for your former teammates. Don't let what happened to me make you feel any less proud of what you helped build."
