Jason Kelce stood on a South Philadelphia roof deck with the city’s skyline in the background, teammates, family and friends in front of him and “Underdog” emblazoned on his shirt.
It was a fitting encapsulation of Kelce, with white New Balance dad shoes, to boot.
The Sunday afternoon event celebrated Kelce’s Underdog apparel line, which launched on Oct. 2, and the (Be)Philly Foundation it supports. Kelce, who knows how to hold a crowd’s attention, offered opening remarks as if he were on the Art Museum steps during the Super Bowl parade.
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“Obviously, Underdog plays on the city of Philadelphia’s iconic 2017 Super Bowl run, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of,” Kelce said during his speech at Bok Bar. “But larger than that, I think it embodies the city of Philadelphia. I think ‘underdog’ is a mentality. It’s a mentality that we’re not going to listen to outside noise. We’re not going to let anybody tell us who we are, how good we are and how good we can be! We go out there and prove it every single day! We go out there and be the best we can each and every day!”
At that point, it wasn’t clear whether he was only trying to raise money or beat the Cowboys.
He then explained the significance of the foundation’s name, which will support Philadelphia organizations making a difference for children.
“(Be)Philly really came about because we’re not trying to change the city of Philadelphia at all; I think the city of Philadelphia has an incredible amount of strength, has pride, has incredibly strong people,” Kelce said. “We want to help the city achieve. We want to help our young people achieve. Some of the first things we tried to do was try to find programs and people doing great work in the city already, because I’m not an expert. I may be an expert at center and playing football, but I am not an expert at the nuanced difficulties that face our young people in the city.”
The launch party was noteworthy not only because Kelce is lending his time and resources but also because he’s lending his name.
The Jason Kelce brand is gold in Philadelphia. You’ll have a hard time finding someone with a higher approval rating. He might not be from Philadelphia, but he’s of Philadelphia.
No current athlete has a better pulse on the fan base and the market than Kelce does. He’s chugging beers and hugging the Phillie Phanatic during Game 3 of the NLCS. When Ben Simmons refused to play for the 76ers, Kelce pushed back on the perception that it’s hard to play in Philadelphia. (“You just go out there and play hard,” he said. “Want to be loved in this city as a baseball player? Run to first base. They’re going to f—ing love you.”)
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Yet he’s been judicious with how he’s used his personal brand. There’s a reason every third advertisement after the Super Bowl didn’t include Kelce in a Mummers outfit. He offered his support to teammates’ philanthropic endeavors and the Eagles’ internal initiatives, including the Eagles Autism Foundation.
But being the founder, leader and face of this type of endeavor? It’s new for the 35-year-old Kelce, who’s in his 12th season with the Eagles.
When this was raised to Kelce, he explained that it started with the idea of helping children in Philadelphia and was propelled by finding the right partners to make it work. That allowed him to take the thoughts he ruminated on and turn them into a business strategy and modus operandi.
“I’m a great idea guy, I’m a good football player, not so good business-minded or running foundation,” Kelce told The Athletic. “So meeting the right people, meeting artists in the area, all of this has helped this finally come to fruition.”
(Courtesy of Kevin Kilkenny / Rec Philly)The brand’s logo is a play off the German shepherd mask worn by Lane Johnson and Chris Long during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run. The initial apparel line includes a “Hungry Dogs Run Faster” shirt with Long and Johnson wearing the dog masks from January 2018, along with shirts with artwork featuring Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Brandon Graham. Then there’s the Underdog shirt that Kelce wore (and has worn in postgame interviews) along with merchandise.
What made Kelce proud is that the entire operation was produced by Philadelphians, from the artists to the distributors.
“Everything is a Philadelphia-minded endeavor,” Kelce said. “We wanted this to be a Philadelphia brand. We don’t want this to be a Jason Kelce brand. We want this to be something the community can be proud of that can go back to making Philadelphia better. Everything down to the topography is as Philadelphia-focused as possible.”
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And, of course, the causes it supports. The foundation partnered with Philadelphia Futures, Steppingstone Scholars and Coded by Kids — organizations Kelce said “help Philadelphia kids reach their potential.” He reflected upon the family members, coaches and mentors who helped him as a child growing up in the Cleveland area and sought to find those who could ignite similar results.
“Being able to make someone reach their potential is one of the best things you can do in society,” Kelce said. “It will make Philadelphia better, it will make the community better.”
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts were in attendance at Jason Kelce’s “Underdog” launch party. (Kevin Kilkenny / Rec Philly)The attendance at the event also said something about Kelce — and to Kelce.
Football players and coaches don’t get many autumn Sundays off. There’s a bye week and a Sunday after a Thursday game. Those weekends are precious. Yet there were Hurts and Brown, sitting at a table and listening to Kelce speak. The entire starting offensive line came to support their center, and so did key players throughout the roster, from Fletcher Cox to Dallas Goedert to Avonte Maddox. All of the specialists were present. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland was in the crowd. So were Eagles staffers, from the equipment room to the front office.
“I think it’s the culture that we built,” Jordan Mailata said. “The culture that we built this year, the connections, the bonds, the relationships — the way we connect with each other off the field, out of this building, it’s been one of the best locker rooms I’ve been a part of. And it’s showing, for the amount of guys that showed up for Kelce’s (launch party).”
It didn’t go unnoticed by Kelce. He said players often try to support teammates’ endeavors, but he recognized the significance of their coming on one of their few Sundays off. He believed it spoke to the “tightknit” group that is undefeated this season.
“It’s cheesy, but we’re part of a much bigger family,” Kelce said. “We really do appreciate each other much more than on the field.”
(Top photo of Jason Kelce: Kevin Kilkenny / Rec Philly)
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