Report: Jason Kelce, Eagles Agree to New Contract Worth Up to $12M

The Philadelphia Eagles and center Jason Kelce reportedly agreed on a one-year contract for the 2021 NFL season that includes $9 million in guaranteed money.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported Friday the deal features a maximum value of $12 million.

Kelce, who seemed to indicate he was considering retirement earlier in the offseason, has spent his entire career with the Eagles since being selected in the sixth round of the 2011 draft.

The 33-year-old University of Cincinnati product told Dave Spadaro of the team's official website he opted to come back because he didn't want his career to end on a low note after Philadelphia missed the playoffs with a 4-11-1 record in 2020:

"I'm really fired up to be able to come back and play for the Eagles again. I've always said I'm playing until I'm not and I still have a very strong desire to play the game of football. I still want to do it. I still want to be around the guys. I want to be around the building, around the coaches. I still enjoy that aspect of it and I'm not ready to stop doing it yet.

"I'm excited with a lot of the energy going around right now and, also, I didn't want to end my career on a season like we had last year. It wouldn't feel right. I want to leave the Eagles knowing that I left it in good hands."

The Eagles' struggles last year led to widespread changes, including the departures of head coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Carson Wentz, who was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in a deal that will become official when the new NFL league year opens March 17.

Philly hired former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni to replace Pederson. He opted to keep offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland on the staff, and Kelce told Spadaro that was another important factor in his decision to return for another season:

"That's big. Obviously, Stout and I have an unbelievable relationship. This will be our ninth season together. I've been with him longer than pretty much anybody at this point in the football world. He means so much more to me than just as a coach—as a mentor, as a friend, as a person to guide me—I can't say enough about our relationship and how much he's meant to me not just as a coach but as a person."

Kelce has been one of the NFL's top centers for the better part of the past decade. His accolades include four Pro Bowl appearances and three first-team All-Pro selections. He received a mediocre 69.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus for the 2020 season, though.

The Ohio native, along with the rest of the returning Eagles, will look to produce a bounce-back to help Philadelphia reach the postseason for the fourth time in the last five years. The franchise captured its first Super Bowl title at the end of the 2017 campaign.