Ever since he retired from the NFL, Jason Kelce has been playing a lot more golf than he did back in the day. One would assume he has been enjoying swinging his club on the course, but there is an issue that has been bothering him: it’s his ankles. Years of injuries have weakened them. That’s the reason he was seen with taped ankles at his retirement press conference in 2024.

Now, the same problem is spilling into golf. Effective ankle flexibility plays a vital role in creating and channeling force throughout a golf swing, but Kelce cannot use that to his advantage. Hear it from him.

“I’ve fallen in love with golf, and the season is getting ready to get revved up again,” he wrote on X. “One thing I have struggled with is my weak ankles. Years of NFL games have destroyed my ankles; I don’t know that I’m cut out for just golf shoes.”

With this tweet, the Philly legend was promoting his new YouTube video called Golf Shoes Suck, So I Made My Own. In the video, Kelce and his crew attempt to find the 38-year-old his perfect golf boot, as normal golf shoes don’t cut it for the Philadelphia Eagles icon.

“I know a guy in South Philly, Dom the cobbler, we used to call him. Dom used to recreate this cleat for me after they stopped making it,” Kelce said in the video, sharing how Dom would resew the bottom of the cleat to a boot.

That got Kelce thinking about getting Dom to make him some customized golf boots. He loves the ankle support they provide.

Kelce’s ankles have been a recurrent issue throughout the star center’s illustrious 13-year career. For the majority of his time in the NFL, he garnered the reputation of being Philadelphia’s Ironman with his 156 consecutive starts since 2014. However, like every NFL player, injuries were a problem for him, which started in 2012 when he injured his ACL and was out for that entire season.

He had a partial MCL tear six years later, as the Eagles icon had to play through a partial MCL tear and a broken foot while also dealing with a broken elbow, which needed a brace. Then, in the 2022 season, Jason Kelce played with a torn ligament in his ankle. And after retiring, he has been vocal about his injuries and their impact on his body.

“I’m trying to lift weights, straining muscles. My ankle, playing golf last week, is inflamed. I can’t squat now because my ankle hurts. I can’t bench because I sprained my pecs,” he said during a May 2025 episode of his New Heights Podcast. “For a player who only missed significant time twice in his entire NFL career, the breakdown feels sudden and real.”

Despite these continued ankle problems, Jason Kelce has been finding new ways to navigate around these issues to fully enjoy his new passion for golf. While he improves his game, he also received a new opportunity to explore the sport with one of its biggest icons.

Jason Kelce to join TGL ahead of regular-season finale

With the NFL offseason continuing in full flow, Jason Kelce will pivot from his football broadcaster role towards a new sport. As revealed on his New Heights podcast, the elder Kelce will be on the commentary team for the final three matches of the TGL regular season.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy founded TGL, and the event has state-of-the-art technology with a family-friendly environment that is expanding into a women’s league come winter 2026. So, speaking about his new gig with TGL, he expressed gratitude for this opportunity.

“We are doing a little,” Jason said on his podcast. “I’m doing TGL. Thankfully, it’s a part of ESPN, so I get to go down there and work.

This newest gig is part of a series of individual appearances ESPN has arranged for Jason Kelce after he declined to move forward with a second season of They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce in January. The decision was his, driven by a desire to branch out and explore other avenues rather than commit to another weekly show.

As a result, ESPN pivoted to using him in targeted, high-profile settings where his presence could make an impact. That includes the NHL Stadium Series held in Tampa last month.

So, Jason Kelce’s retirement has been anything but quiet. Despite battling the lingering effects of his NFL career, he continues to embrace new opportunities with the same enthusiasm that defined his playing days.