Retiring from the NFL doesn’t have to mean stepping away from the football field for good.
At least not for Travis and Jason Kelce, according to their mom Donna, who tells PEOPLE exclusively that she “can’t believe that they wouldn’t be in the future involved with football in some capacity because they love it so much.”
The beloved NFL mom of two shared her thoughts with PEOPLE on what life might look like for her sons when they retire from professional football amid rumors that Jason played his final game after his Philadelphia Eagles team was knocked out of the playoffs on Jan. 15.
“They love the people and they love the coaches,” Donna says of what Travis and Jason value about the sport that they’ve played since they were kids. “They just love the whole aspect about it,” she adds, noting the “very small community.”
Although Jason is center for the Eagles and Travis is tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, Donna says “everybody is very close even in different teams.” That’s just another reason why she “believes” hers sons’ involvement with football to some degree “will be the case” in retirement.
Teams aside, Donna points out their respective personalities. “I know them,” the proud mom begins to explain of her “very determined” and “very focused” sons.
“Anything they want to do, I truly believe they could do. I’ve seen it over and over again,” Donna continues. “They are just very tenacious, very much, ‘I’m going to see this through.’ They just never give up. They just keep moving on.”
And though Donna says she has “a feeling sports is going to be in there somewhere if they could,” she points out that it’s “fun to see” Jason be a parent too! “It’s just so heartening to see how he is as a father and a husband,” she says of her son, who shares three daughters with his wife Kylie.
It’s “so heartening — unless he’s going to do an antic,” she jokes, referencing Jason’s celebratory shirtless moment that went viral when he stripped during the Chiefs game against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 21. “But it’s funny,” she adds. “He’s a crazy good guy” and an “absolutely” fun dad!
While Donna shared her thoughts on what life might look like for her sons’ after they retire from the NFL, Jason opened up on his New Heights podcast on Jan. 17 about the retirement rumors that had surfaced after the Eagles’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and elimination from the playoffs.
“I just don’t think you’re in a position after a game like that to really, you know, make that decision. I just don’t,” Jason said. “There’s too much emotion in the moment. There’s too much going down in the moment to really fully grasp that decision.”
“I’m not trying to be dramatic to continue to draw this thing out,” he added. “I’m really not.”
Travis, too, tried to clear the air during a Jan. 19 press conference. “It came out that he retired, and he really didn’t say any of that,” the Chiefs tight end told reporters.
“The end of that game, I think everybody kind of felt for him, knowing that he has been thinking about it a lot over the past couple of years. The documentary shows that. You don’t need to go around and ask anybody,” Travis continued.
“It’s been cool to see everybody appreciate who he’s been over the years this past week, but I think the big guy still got some football left if he wants it,” he added.
