In a moment that brought tears, laughter, and a flood of green-and-white pride, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce announced the arrival of his first son with wife Kylie Kelce on March 1, 2025. The NFL icon, known for his gritty play and larger-than-life personality, took to Instagram with a post that melted hearts across the league: “I’m finally a boy dad! Welcome to the world, Jude Edward Kelce. I’m crying, Kylie’s crying, and the girls are already fighting over who gets to boss him around.” The photo showed a beaming Jason cradling a tiny bundle in an Eagles onesie, his trademark beard barely hiding the emotion etched on his face.
For Kelce, 37, this milestone marks a shift in a household famously dominated by daughters—Wyatt (5), Elliotte (3), and Bennett (2)—and now expecting a fourth girl later in 2025, as announced last November. Jude’s arrival, however, flips the script, fulfilling a long-held hope for the retired All-Pro. “I’ve been outnumbered for years,” Jason joked on a recent episode of New Heights, the podcast he co-hosts with his brother, Travis Kelce. “I kept telling Kylie, ‘The universe owes me one.’ Turns out, it was listening.”
The birth, which took place at a Philadelphia hospital, was a family affair. Kylie, 32, a former college field hockey standout and Jason’s rock since their 2018 wedding, shared her own sentiments on social media: “Jude Edward Kelce. 8 lbs, 3 oz of pure joy. The girls are obsessed, and Jason’s already planning football drills.” The middle name, Edward, honors Jason’s father, Ed Kelce, a steelworker-turned-proud patriarch who watched both his sons rise to NFL stardom. “Pop’s gonna lose it when he meets this little guy,” Jason said during a tearful call-in to ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, where he now serves as an analyst.
Fans flooded X with reactions, many echoing the sentiment of @EaglesNation: “Jason Kelce as a boy dad is the content we didn’t know we needed. Jude’s already a Philly legend!” Others noted the poetic timing—Jude arrived just weeks after the Eagles clinched a playoff spot in Jason’s first season off the field, a nod to the family’s unbreakable bond with the city. “He’s born into the chaos of Eagles fandom,” one user posted. “Good luck, kid!”
Kelce’s journey to “boy dad” status has been a running theme in his public life. With three daughters already, he often spoke of his love for being a “girl dad,” a role he embraced with the same passion he brought to the offensive line. “I thought I’d be tough, raise ‘em hard,” he told PEOPLE in 2023. “Then Wyatt came along, and I was done for.” His girls have been fixtures at Eagles games and even inspired his charity work with the Philly Specials Christmas albums. But the prospect of a son? “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wonder what it’d be like,” he admitted on New Heights last fall. “Teaching a boy to throw a spiral, wrestle like me and Trav did—man, that’s a different kind of fun.”
Kylie, ever the grounded half of the duo, kept the news under wraps until Jude’s arrival. “We didn’t know until he got here,” she revealed in an Instagram story, laughing as she recounted Jason’s stunned reaction in the delivery room. “He just kept saying, ‘A boy? A BOY?’ like he couldn’t believe it.” The couple, who met on Tinder a decade ago, have built a life rooted in family and Philly pride. Jude’s birth adds a new layer to that legacy, especially with Travis—Uncle Trav to the Kelce kids—still chasing a third Super Bowl ring with the Chiefs.
As Jason settles into retirement, his $24 million ESPN gig, and now fatherhood to a son, the timing feels serendipitous. “I’ve got the girls teaching me patience, and now Jude’s gonna get the rough-and-tumble side,” he said, grinning on air. “Kylie’s the real MVP here—she’s growing humans while I’m just trying not to drop the baby.” The Kelce household, already a whirlwind of pink sweaters and preschool chaos, now welcomes a little boy who’s destined to carry the family’s football DNA. For Jason, it’s more than a win—it’s a whole new game, and he’s all in.
