Jason Kelce Clears up Surname Confusion
For over a decade now, Eagles fans have gotten very familiar with the name of their three-time All-Pro center.
Jason Kelce has become an institution in Philadelphia and his last name has been pronounced 'Kell-see' for good reason, according to a team source,
Back in 2011 when Kelce was drafted in the sixth round out of Cincinnati, Ryan Grigson, currently a senior football advisor with the Cleveland Browns, was the Eagles' director of player personnel and asked Kelce what the proper pronunciation was.
The answer Grigson got was the familiar 'Kell-see' that has been used in Philadelphia ever since.
Enter Travis Kelce, the All-Pro tight end with Kansas City and Jason's brother, who dropped a bombshell on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast this week.
"Everyone says 'Kell-see,' Travis explained before correcting the record and saying it's really pronounced 'Kelss.'"
So what gives?
Why would the Kelce brothers - both potential future Hall of Famers - allow everyone to say their names wrong?
Jason Kelce called into the Eagles' flagship radio station on Thursday to clarify matters.
“You got it right. It’s 'Kell-see,'” Jason told 94WIP.
Both Kelces have big personalities so many thought Travis was having some fun and just trolling the football world.
Not so.
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“So I’ll give you the story behind why my brother said that,” Kelce explained. “My brother and I have gone by ‘Kell-see’ our entire lives and I still remember my dad answering the phone as Ed ‘Kell-see’ all growing up when he was on work calls and everything.
"Our side of the family has always gone by ‘Kell-see’ and we have a really small family. We don’t have any first cousins, my grandfather on that side was dead before I was born. So somewhat we got so disconnected with that side."
Evidently, Jason's dad got tired of correcting people so he just went with 'Kel-see.'
"My dad at some point when he was working in the steel mills in Cleveland got tired of correcting everyone was calling him ‘Kell-see,’" said Jason. "Apparently the correct pronunciation, the standard pronunciation, is ‘Kelss’ that the rest of the family goes by. But my dad out of pure laziness completely changed his last name.”
So Travis is correct in that the family name is actually pronounced ‘Kelss’ but ‘Kell-see’ was accepted by the brothers' father and took on a life of its own
“For some reason, he decided to change it and that’s what we’ve gone by our whole lives, so we’re kind of separate from the rest of the family in that regard, which we’ve gotten plenty of messages and texts since becoming NFL players from extended family members all over the world who have told us, ‘You’re pronouncing the name wrong.’" Kelce joked. "That’s the story.”
And moving forward?
“We will honestly go by either one but I prefer ‘Kell-see’ just because that’s the way I’ve said it my entire life and the way our side of the family has said it.”
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
