Jason Kelce and ESPN reportedly call it quits after their first stint of They Call It Late Night

Sam Neumann of Awful Announcing recently reported that They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce will not return for a second season in 2026. The retired Philadelphia Eagles center chose to pursue other opportunities during the offseason instead of committing to another run of the show. ESPN supports Kelce’s decision and will continue working on other planned projects.The show debuted on Jan. 3, 2025, and Kelce started by chugging a beer served to him by former Philadelphia wide receiver Harold Carmichael.Back in Nov. 2024, the father-of-four announced on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, “I love late-night shows. I’ve always loved them. I remember at sleepovers watching Conan O’Brien with my friends.For me, the biggest thing that players say they miss when they leave the sport is being around the guys. It’s the locker room, the banter. We’re going to have a bunch of guys up there: legends of the game, friends I played with, coaches, and celebrities. NFL Films is also going to be a part of it. We have live bands. It’s gonna be a celebration!” The show’s title was inspired by NFL Films’ 1967 film They Call It Pro Football. It aired late Friday nights and early Saturday mornings on ESPN. Kelce brought in Late Night with Conan O’Brien writers Andy Blitz and Jon Glaser to help create comedy bits and sketches. NFL Films produced the show with Kelce’s Wooderboy Production and Skydance Sports. The first episode, which aired Jan. 3, 2025, drew 290K viewers.ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told The New York Times then that the show’s future would be “a little bit more art than science.” Kelce’s show earned a nomination for the Writers Guild Award in the Comedy / Variety Special Talk category. The 78th Annual Writers Guild Awards is set to take place on March 8 in New York and Los Angeles.However, in Feb. 2025, Travis Kelce’s older brother acknowledged the show’s struggles on the Fitz & Whit podcast: “After the show -- it was a hard show -- and doing it in the moment in the venue, it felt really good. The energy was there. It was like, ‘Man, we just had a [---] great show. And then you watch it on tape, and you’re like, ‘Man, I could have done all this other stuff.’”The Super Bowl LII champion will continue to serve as an analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown during the NFL season.On Sunday, February 1, the celebrated center is set to make his NHL broadcasting debut as a special correspondent for the NHL Stadium Series game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in Tampa, Florida. Kylie Kelce’s husband will sit in the “Best Seat in the House” at ice level and interview guests during the game.