Jason Kelce concerned NFL is 'getting away' from great football tradition
Jason Kelce concerned NFL is 'getting away' from great football tradition
Sian JonesTue, May 26, 2026 at 1:49 PM UTC
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Jason Kelce believes the NFL is moving away from its traditional structure -Credit:New Heights (New Heights)
Jason Kelce has voiced concern that the NFL is moving away from its traditional Sunday identity.
The schedule for the upcoming season looks markedly different from previous years, with only Tuesday left free of fixtures as games are now spread across the other six days of the week. The expanded slate of standalone matchups has drawn significant attention from fans and observers alike. Among those raising concerns is the former Philadelphia Eagles center who has criticized the change as part of a broader shift he believes is moving the league away from its traditional structure.
On a recent episode of the New Heights podcast, Kelce said he feels the NFL is drifting away from making Sunday the central day of the football calendar. "Sunday is the day of football," Kelce said. "Outside of going to church in the morning, if you're still religious and do that, Sunday is where so many games happen and and that's what you grow up and you gear your entire week around watching football on Sunday." Meanwhile, Taylor Swift brutally snubbed live on ESPN after a public outing with Travis Kelce.
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Continuing his discussion about football Sundays, Kelce added: "It's an institution at this point, the NFL playing games on Sunday. With every day that we keep adding in there, we're getting away from that just a little bit. And I worry that I think the game got big.
"One of the reasons it got so popular and big was because all of the games, it was an event. Sunday is the NFL and everybody set their week apart to tune in to their games that were happening on Sunday and you're watching kind of all of them."
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Jason Kelce believes football is moving away from the traditional Sunday -Credit:Getty Images
Kelce added that he is concerned the league is moving away from that tradition as it continues to expand the schedule beyond the sport’s traditional game days.
The NFL is set to open the 2026 season on Wednesday, Sept. 9, departing from its traditional Thursday kickoff, with the usual opener instead shifting to Australia as the Los Angeles Rams face the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC West matchup. Kelce also pointed to a broader trend, noting that the league has scheduled games on the night before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day itself, Christmas Eve and Christmas, further expanding the footprint of regular-season fixtures.
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However, Kelce’s concerns were not universally shared. His brother Travis Kelce, offered a contrasting viewpoint during the discussion. "I think it's awesome," Travis said. "I honestly do. As somebody who's played on Christmas, who's played on Christmas Eve, who's played on Thanksgiving Eve, Thanksgiving, who's played in a lot of like awkward short week moments, I think it's fun.
"And I don't think it's, you know, as taxing as it may seem because it's the NFL. You're living out your dream. If there's a chance to play on a f------ primetime game, which all these one-off games are that aren't on Sunday, I'm f------ getting so excited for those opportunities because those are the opportunities you really get to show yourself."
It comes after Travis Kelce gave a 10-word reason for refusing to sign the autograph of a young Chiefs fan.
Source: “AOL Sports”
