Former Eagles center Jason Kelce attends NFL meetings ahead of 'Tush Push' vote
Jason Kelce is putting on his lobbyist hat at the NFL owner's meetings.
The former Philadelphia Eagles center retired in March 2024 after 13 seasons in the NFL. A six-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion, Kelce reached a level that is especially hard for offensive lineman to achieve – a familiar face for football and non-football fans everywhere.
Now he's using that status by visiting the owners meetings, where the NFL is expected to ban the "Tush Push," following a rule change proposal brought by the Green Bay Packers.
Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts and Kelce have served as the poster children for the play, which has drawn the ire of fans and opposing teams over the years. With the play's future on the chopping block, Kelce discussed his role before the vote on the latest episode of his "New Heights" podcast.
"I'm actually going to Minnesota," Kelce said. "So there were some things said at the last owners meeting. Some of the owners and coaches suggested that the reason I stopped playing was because of the "Tush Push" and that I got hurt on the "Tush Push" frequently."
Kelce pointed out that he doesn't care what happens to the play, saying he will play an informational role before the vote.
"I'm just going to answer any questions people have about my partaking in this play," Kelce said. "I don't care whether it gets banned or not. I think, that at the end of the day, this is why you vote on things. And if they vote to ban the "Tush Push," the Eagles are still going to run the quarterback sneak at a very high percentage."
The potential ban has been a controversial topic in NFL circles since it's proposal, largely thanks to it becoming seemingly an automatic short-yardage conversion.
While the focus has been on player safety in the rugby-style scrum, Kelce doesn't seem to buy into that, saying he'd come out of retirement if he only had to run that play.
"I'll come out of retirement today if you tell me all I gotta do is run 80 tush pushes to play in the NFL," Kelce said. "I'll do it gladly. It'll be the easiest job in the world and it'll be 80-something snaps."
Discussions for a ban were tabled in early April since the proposal didn't have enough support. That has since changed. Whether Kelce can change anyone's mind on the matter now remains to be seen.
However, if anyone can push the ball across the goal line when needed – it's Kelce and the Eagles.