Jason Kelce To ESPN NFL Monday Night Countdown: REPORT

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ESPN continues its run of trying to grab every free agent NFL analyst on the market. According to a report from The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, recently retired former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is headed to the network, likely to replace Robert Griffin III on "Monday Night Countdown." 

Marchand also previously reported that ESPN wanted to demote RGIII from the Monday Night Football pregame show due to his terrible performance and strange antics. With Kelce coming into the fold, he becomes the obvious replacement to join host Scott Van Pelt along with analysts Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark.

Presumably, Kelce will continue his "New Heights" podcast with his brother, Travis, outside the deal with ESPN. The network has been much more liberal about allowing its talent to have media not connected to the four-letter company. 

Stephen A. Smith, for example, started his own podcast, which he owns, and is not controlled by ESPN. That's despite the company paying Smith over $10 million per year. 

ESPN is building up its roster ahead of airing the first Super Bowl on a Disney-owned network since 2006. Thanks to the company's new deal with the NFL, the league returned ABC/ESPN to its Super Bowl rotation, giving the network the 2027 version of the Big Game. 

Could ESPN be planning to add both Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce to its NFL roster over the next few years?

Could ESPN be planning to add both Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce to its NFL roster over the next few years?

(Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)

It started with ESPN hiring Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to give their Monday Night Football broadcast booth a much-needed lift following a season with Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese. 

Now, they add Jason Kelce to their pregame show. Presumably, the company sees Kelce as a potential star, starting him on Monday Night Countdown while possibly setting him up for a bigger role in the future. 

Plus, they're taking advantage of his massive name value thanks to the emergence of the "Kelce Brothers" in the pop culture scene. Additionally, who knows how many years Travis Kelce has left in the NFL? 

ESPN might be getting ahead of his potential post-football move by getting his brother on the roster. Pairing the Kelce brothers together on ESPN seems like a natural direction for the company to take its NFL coverage. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.