Jason Kelce's Retirement Will Come at a Price, but the Eagles Won't Mind
While pro athletes usually call it a career significantly earlier than your average employee, everyone ultimately retires. Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is probably more aware of that reality than most. He considered hanging up his helmet after the 2022 season but decided to run it back for another year.
And while we're in the midst of the 2023 campaign, retirement chatter hasn't gone away. With the entire Kelce family planted firmly in the spotlight, no storyline can fly too far under the radar. Jason, for his part , hasn't exactly been shy about throwing out hints, either.
But NFL players don't simply announce their retirement and ride off into the sunset. There are still some business realities to square away. And, in Kelce's case, his potential 2024 retirement will leave the Eagles holding the bag.
Let's break it down.
Jason Kelce #62 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on November 5, 2023 in Pennsylvania. The center could be retiring at the end of this season. Mitchell Leff/Kelce's 2024 Retirement Would Leave Dead Cap Behind
Given that Jason Kelce signed a one-year contract ahead of the 2023 NFL season, you'd probably think it would be relatively simple for him to wrap up his career. He and the club could simply let his deal expire, and then he wouldn't sign a new one.
But this is the NFL we're talking about. The hard salary cap usually requires a bit of (legal) financial manipulation.
Consider the details of Kelce's contract, as laid out by OverTheCap. There are actually four more seasons (2024 and the void years of 2025, 2026 and 2027) on the books, all of which carry a pro-rated bonus.
None of those sums are massive—there's roughly a $12 million cap hit in 2024 and around $14 million of prorated bonuses beyond that—but it's worth noting that they don't automatically vanish in retirement.
"If there is dead money in a player's contract and he is released or retires, that charge will accelerate onto the team's salary cap for the current year," NFL.com's free agency explainer states.
"Essentially, the salary cap is like a credit card, minus the interest. Anything that is paid out to a player must be paid back to (and accounted for against) the salary cap at some point."
So, what does that mean in real-life terms? If Kelce retires ahead of the 2024 season, the outstanding money, just over $24 million, will still count against the Eagles' salary cap.
With that being said, though, there are still some permutations.
Should the center be released, or retire, before June 1, all of that dead cap will count against the 2024 ledger. If things don't officially move until after June 1 (the effective void date, per OverTheCap is June 3, suggesting the Eagles thought about this possibility) the money will be spread out across two NFL years. But even with that mitigation, there will still be some dead money (just under $11 million in 2024 and a bit over $13 million in 2025, by Spotrac's calculations) left behind.
Kelce Has Been Well Worth That Money
Given that the NFL is a hard-cap league, it's less than ideal to be paying for a player who's no longer on the roster. In Kelce's case, though, Philly has gotten more than their money's worth.
During his time in the City of Brotherly Love, the Cincinnati product has been a rock. Linemen don't always get the same credit as the quote-unquote skill players, but they're the foundation of the team. Kelce has been exactly that.
Beyond his incredible durability, the center has delivered. His five All-Pro nods speak for themselves, and he was a part of the Super Bowl LII winning squad. Add another appearance in the Big Game (2023's defeat to Kansas City) and the very real possibility of Philadelphia chasing another title this year, and Kelce has been worth the investment.
Alternatively, consider this more visceral touchstone. The "Brotherly Shove," the near-unstoppable play that's become a key part of the Eagles' modern success, probably wouldn't work without Kelce.
In modern pro sports, players hold much of the power; you'll often have to accept some less-than-ideal terms to keep top talent on your roster. In this case, though, holding onto a bit of dead cap (whether that's in one lump sum or spread across two seasons) is a reasonable price to pay for having the league's top center holding down your offensive line.
