Report: Kelce will join ESPN, be part of 'Monday Night Football' pregame show

Jason Kelce will join ESPN's “Monday Night Countdown” after retiring from the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity on Monday because it was not expected to be announced until the ESPN/Disney upfront presentation to advertisers on May 14. The Athletic was the first to report on Kelce's choice.

Kelce is expected to replace Robert Griffin III, who would continue with the network as a college football analyst. Scott Van Pelt became the host of the “Monday Night Football” pregame show last season with Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark as the other analysts.

Kelce played 13 years for the Eagles and was the most sought after former player by the networks for the upcoming season. He participated in last year's NFL Broadcasting and Media Workshop, which used to be known as the “Broadcast Bootcamp.”

“This is all new territory for me. I have even more respect for it now,” Kelce said at the time. “It’s very hard to do something live, reactive of stimulus that just happened and having something clever and meaningful to say.”

Kelce made an appearance on Prime Video's “Thursday Night Football” during the Eagles bye week last season, when he was an analyst during the second quarter of the game between the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.

Kelce is expected to continue doing his “New Heights” podcast with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

With Kelce off the market, former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick becomes the most sought after TV free agent. Belichick got solid reviews as an analyst on Pat McAfee's livestream during the first round of the NFL draft last week.

Monday ended up being a busy day when it came to NFL pregame show moves. CBS announced earlier in the day that Matt Ryan is joining “The NFL Today” after splitting time last season in the studio and being a game analyst. Ryan officially retired last week after a 15-year career with the Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts from 2008-22.

The network also announced Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason will leave after long runs on the show. Simms came to CBS in 1998 after the network won the rights to the AFC. He was the lead game analyst until he moved to the studio in 2017.

Esiason had been on “The NFL Today” since 2002.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl