'JUST HUSKY'

NFL Star, 38, Says He’s at a ‘Morbidly Obese’ Weight Now

The retired Philadelphia Eagles center spoke about his weight while praising another player.

Jason Kelce has shared a surprising assessment of his weight and how it’s categorized by doctors.

The retired Philadelphia Eagles center opened up about his weight while praising Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton during an NFL Network broadcast.

Jason, 38, complimented Hamilton’s performance as a “big fella” while filling in as the team’s emergency long snapper during the Oct. 11 Eagles-Jaguars game.

Hamilton is 6-foot-4 and weighs 335 pounds, which is typical for his position. He was filling in for his team’s starting long snapper, Ross Matiscik, who suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter.

“When I put on weight—I used to long-snap in high school—when I got to over 300 pounds-ish, it became really hard to look in between your legs,” Jason said. “Way to go, DaVon Hamilton. I love it.”

Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, who was on the broadcast with Jason, opposed his claim about his weight.

“You’ve never been fat. You’re just husky,” Warner said.

But Jason pushed back further, saying, “Well, I mean, if you look at the BMI, I think I’m technically obese, morbidly.”

Jason hosts the New Heights podcast with his brother Travis Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs tight end and the husband of pop star Taylor Swift, and joined ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown as a commentator in 2024.

Jason, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 270 pounds, has lost about 25 pounds since officially ending his 13-season NFL career in March 2024.

According to the NIH’s body mass index calculator, Jason is correct: His BMI is 33.7, which falls into the obesity category for his height range.

For people who are 6-foot-3, the BMI classifies a weight over 239.6 pounds as obese, while a range between 199.7 and 239.6 pounds is overweight.

The healthy category includes a weight range between 147.7 and 199.6 pounds, and anything less than 147.7 pounds is considered underweight.

Using BMI to assess a patient’s health is controversial, as it does not offer a comprehensive picture.

“The problem is not BMI itself, but the tendency to use it as a single focus,” Dr. Wajahat Mehal, a gastroenterologist and the director of the Yale Metabolic Health & Weight Loss Program, said in 2023. “BMI is just one data point, along with many others, that needs to be considered to determine a person’s health.”

It can also be misleading because it doesn’t account for muscle mass, meaning a person with less body fat and more muscle can have the same BMI as someone classified as obese, despite the latter having less muscle.

Athletes, for example, are often categorized as obese because they typically have more muscle mass.

Jason, who shares four young daughters with his wife Kylie Kelce, 34, has been open about his weight loss since retiring from the NFL.

In June 2024, he told GQ he had already lost 20 pounds.

“It’s hard to imagine another nearly 20 pounds coming off, being honest with you,” Jason said. “But my back already feels better. My knees already feel better. So another 20 pounds hopefully will make that much more adept at playing with my children.”

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