Jason Kelce had a rocky start to his life as a late-night talk show host after many NFL fans ridiculed his ESPN debut on Friday night.
The first episode of 'They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce' aired at 1 a.m. ET on ESPN and featured cameos from his wife, Kylie, his parents Ed and Donna, and even Jimmy Kimmel.
The show was not well received by a large number of followers on social media, who called it “horrible”, “disgraceful”, “embarrassing” and “painfully unfunny”.
However, some came to Kelce's defense, calling him “a great product” and “a lot of fun.”
There was no sign of younger brother Travis, with whom Jason co-hosts the award-winning New Heights podcast.
Instead, the show had a Philadelphia flavor as Kelce welcomed NBA legend Charles Barkley, former Eagles star Brian Baldinger and Philadelphia rapper and comedian Lil Dicky.
Former NFL star Jason Kelce had a rocky start to his life as a late-night talk show host
The first episode of 'They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce' aired on ESPN on Friday night
The show featured a lot of profanity and ended with Kelce drinking beers with his fans.
The panel also discussed the big talking points in the NFL, including the Eagles' decision to rest Saquon Barkley.
But the program received a lot of criticism. “That Jason Kelce show is the worst thing I've seen on TV in forever,” one fan wrote on X.
“This should be the first and last episode of this Jason Kelce talk show,” said another.
One fan took aim at ESPN for “trying to promote Jason Kelce as a comedian,” calling it “extremely sad.”
'This Jason Kelce show is horrible. A total shame,” said another. 'Jason Kelce's show so far is horrible. “What the hell is this?” said a fourth.
But some fans enjoyed the spectacle, which began with the former center dressed in a Mummers Parade costume, driving through the streets of Philadelphia and even “speaking” at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Eagles.
'If you're not watching Jason Kelce's new ESPN late night show right now, you're missing out!' wrote one fan.
The show featured cameos from Kelce's wife Kylie and his parents Ed and Donna (above)
“The first ten minutes were a little painful to watch (although there were some funny moments), but I'm starting to like it now that they're talking about football,” said another.
A third called it “very funny,” while a fourth added: “The first 15 minutes of Jason Kelce's late-night show were awkward.” It was scripted, it felt very forced, and it wasn't very funny. But, when it comes to raw Kelce talking football, he's a great product.
Jason was introduced by his wife, the show's host who sits at 'Kylie's Korner,' and his first words were, 'Holy crap… how did we get here?'
The couple then joked about swearing in front of their children with a foul-mouthed conversation that ended with them saying to each other: 'I love you!'