Jason Kelce Announces He Will Play in 2022

The veteran center will return for a 12th season and is playing at a high level

Jason Kelce has officially decided to…

…return to the Philadelphia Eagles next season.

In typical classic fashion, the veteran center announced his decision via Twitter through the Eagles on Thursday. It wasn’t just any announcement, but one that opened with Kelce pumping some air into a keg, presumably the one the Eagles sent him as a convincer to return for another season, filling a blue cup with beer, then taking a big swig.

He teased the decision a bit by saying that he is retiring to host WIP sports talk. He was the guest co-host on Wednesday morning’s program.

“Got a lot of questions on the air about my future so decided I would clear it up right now,” he said via Twitter. “Fortunately, I’ve decided to announce that I’m retiring. I’m hosting WIP. But I’m definitely not retiring from playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, I’m having way too much fun doing that. Looking forward to another year Philadelphia. All my teammates, let’s go dominate.”

pic.twitter.com/haRjMFTxUv

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 10, 2022

Not long after Kelce's announcement he and the Eagles agreed to a one-year deal worth $14 million, per Fox Sports, making him the highest-paid center in the league. Last year, he played on a $9.5 million one-year contract with a salary-cap hit of $5.5M.

Kelce, who turns 35 in November, was expected to return, but every year for the past few years he weighs retirement.

He was ready to call it a career late in the season, with sources saying that he was taking longer and longer to recover from game day bumps and bruises.

Kelce, however, continues to play at a very high level as he enters his 12th season. He was named first-team All-Pro for the fourth time in his career and has made 122 straight starts.

No Eagles center has stated that many games in a row since the 1970 merger and the first center for any team to start at least 100 straight games since Chris Myers from 2007-14. If Kelce plays more than 10 regular-season games next season, he will set a new franchise record for offensive linemen, which currently sits at 159.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.