“I will admit that Kylie beats me,” Jason tells PEOPLE
Super Bowl champion Jason Kelce may have dominated on the gridiron, but it’s Kylie Kelce who rules on the grill.
“I will admit that Kylie beats me, and it’s frustrating,” Jason, 36, tells PEOPLE while discussing his partnership with Kingsford. “Kylie will take four hours to try and make some ribs and somehow she will still make better ribs than mine right now.”
Jason hopes his partnership with Kingsford might help give him an edge over his wife. (Jason teamed up with MVP Vince Wilfork for their new “King of the Grill” campaign.)
“I’m leveraging this partnership to get in contact with some people that are really, really good at [grilling] so I can finally beat Kylie,” he jokes.
After an impressive 13-year career in the NFL, Jason officially retired from the NFL in an emotional 45-minute speech on March 4. But even though he’s done playing, he is certainly not turning his attention away from the game.
Jason Kelce is partnering with Kingsford.
COURTESY OF KINGSFORD
Jason signed on as an analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, which airs leading up to Monday Night Football each week, for the upcoming season. He also tells PEOPLE that he’s excited to enjoy football as a fan.
“I’ve played in the NFL for a very long time. I have not been able to experience it as a fan for the most part … I got some time to potentially take in the actual game day atmosphere from a different lens now that the playing days are behind,” he says.
Another way he hopes to stay connected to the sport is through barbecuing. Jason tells PEOPLE he remembers grilling being a central part of football culture in his family growing up. Now, he hopes to give the three daughters he shares with Kylie, 32, — Wyatt, 4, Elliotte, 3 and Bennett, 15 months — that same experience.
“I think any person that has gone to a football game or gone to an event, [knows] barbecuing is such an intense part of our culture. It’s been such a big part of our family’s life and the places that we’ve been and the communities that we belong to … Now I’ll be able to take them to some tailgates maybe,” he says.
But the Kelce daughters haven’t quite caught the barbecue bug that their dad has.
“They’re not big carnivores like I am, at least they’re not big into it yet. I think Wyatt is going to start getting there. Right now we’re still in the chicken nugget phase,” he laughs. “But there’s other things. You make mac and cheese and all the fixings that they certainly love — corn and whatnot that come off the grill as well.”
Jason Kelce talked about the importance of barbecuing to his family.
COURTESY OF KINGSFORD
Jason and his brother Travis Kelce are a bit picky themselves. While in London attending Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the brothers sampled some local British cuisine for a recent episode of their podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce.
While Jason was more appreciative of the food than Travis, they both had some hilariously negative reactions to the food.
“I don’t get the big deal about it,” Jason said of the full English breakfast he tried. “Yeah, it’s what you think it is. It’s beans and toast. Very bland.”