Jason Kelce is still showing off his Philadelphia pride after retirement.
Kelce and his former Philadelphia Eagles teammate Fletcher Cox, who announced his own retirement from the NFL less than a week after Kelce’s press conference, threw out ceremonial first pitches at the Phillies game on March 30.
Despite Kelce sharing on X days before the game that Cox would be the only one throwing the ball because his “elbow doesn’t work,” both recently retired NFL stars took to the mound for the ceremonial first pitch.
MLB shared video of the moment on X, capturing Cox and Kelce both donning Phillies shirts with their jersey numbers, 91 and 62. They took their places on either side of the mound and got ready to throw their pitches to Phillies players Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.
On a scale from Dr. Anthony Fauci and Snoop Dogg’s embarrassingly bad first pitches to Jennifer Hudson’s perfect strike, Kelce’s pitch made it all the way to Harper at home plate, though it came in a bit too low to be considered a strike.
While Kelce had a fairly successful first pitch, his younger brother Travis Kelce wasn’t as lucky when he threw out the first pitch at a Cleveland Guardians game back in April 2023.
The Kansas City Chiefs star’s ball stopped well before home base before ricocheting off the grass and hurdling towards home plate, causing Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber to lose his balance.
The tight end laughed off his blunder on social media, writing on X, “Been spiking a football for the past 10 years… can you tell?”
Fans shared their thoughts on Jason Kelce’s first pitch on social media, with one fan writing on X, “The Phillies should have kept Jason Kelce on the mound today,” referring to the Phillies 12-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Another fan celebrated Kelce’s pitch, writing, “Jason Kelce with a nasty sinker for his first pitch.”
Other fans took an opportunity to compare Kelce’s first pitch to his younger brother.
NBC Sports Philadelphia reporter John Clark wrote on X, “@JasonKelce > Travis @tkelce first pitches.”
“Out did Travis’ first pitch with ease," one user on X wrote.
Another added, “Trav about to catch some first pitch strays over this. Dude Jason brought it even with 9 fingers and 1 1/2 elbows.”
“Did Jason actually do better than Travis and not throw behind the back stop,” one X user wrote alongside a video of Kelce's pitch.
After the pitch, Kelce and Cox got a chance to greet Harper and Schwarber before they all posed for photos together, which were featured on the Phillies' Instagram.
Kelce and Harper got to share a moment from one Philadelphia star to another when the baseball player asked the NFL legend to sign his cleats, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Cox and Kelce also took an opportunity to sit in the booth with NBC Sports Philadelphia and cheered on the Phillies after J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run.
Kelce’s wife, Kylie Kelce, was also in attendance at the game, People reported. The couple were both decked out in Phillies gear to show off their Philadelphia pride.