Kylie Kelce, the wife of Philadelphia Eagles legend Jason Kelce, called upon a decorated Georgia-based artist to create a beautiful retirement gift for her husband.
Jason and Kylie Kelce (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Prime Video)
After a near-flawless 13 career that will one day place him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Jason Kelce officially announced his retirement on Mar. 4. It had been widely reported beforehand that the longtime Eagles center was planning to walk away following the club’s Divisional Round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On her Instagram page, artist and woodworker Dana Theobald shared photos of the incredible gift she created at Kylie’s request for Jason. Theobald’s business is based in Savannah, Georgia, and one of her specialties is designing stadium replicas with woodwork.
Theobald detailed the photos of the jaw-dropping Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Eagles) replica she created for the Kelces. Theobald placed the replica on a wooden frame, and it features Jason’s name, number and career accolades at the bottom:
“Kansas City and the Philadelphia Eagles were the two teams that showed the most interest.”
@JasonKelce reflects on the day he got drafted.📺: 2024 #NFLDraft – April 25-27 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Also streaming on #NFLPluspic.twitter.com/zz2VDcQerH— NFL (@NFL) April 16, 2024
Kelce will go down as one of the greatest NFL draft steals in history. He was a sixth-round pick (191st overall) out of Cincinnati in 2011. Fast forward to 2024, and he retires with seven Pro Bowl nods, six First-team All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl 52 ring.
Eagles Will Sorely Miss Jason Kelce
With Kelce retired, the Eagles are turning to 2022 second-rounder Cam Jurgens to replace the future Hall of Famer in the middle of the o-line.
Kelce was a top-tier pass-blocker and run-blocker during his 13-year run with the Philadelphia Eagles organization. But all good things must come to an end, and Kelce decided it was time to retire even while he was still in his prime.
Jurgens has had a couple of years now to learn from one of the best to ever do it in Kelce, but you don’t replace an all-time great and grade-A leader. So it’ll be very interesting to see how Philly’s o-line holds up in year one of the post-Kelce era in 2024.
