Donna and Ed Kelce are going to experience all the highs and the lows of a Super Bowl on Sunday.
The parents of Eagles center Jason Kelce and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are guaranteed to see one of their sons add a second Super Bowl ring. They are also guaranteed to see one of them come up short in their bid for a title.
This will be the first time in NFL history a Super Bowl features brothers playing for opposing teams. Brothers have been involved in the big game before, but never against one another on the field.
MORE: Watch Super Bowl 57 live with fuboTV (free trial)
Ahead of the Kelce Bowl, The Sporting News looks at some fun facts about the brothers and the Super Bowl’s history of families in the game. Here’s what you need to know.
What to know about Super Bowl 57 between the Kelce brothers
Both Kelce brothers changed positions
Jason and Travis Kelce are among the NFL’s elite at their positions and have been for a number of years. But there is also a scenario where they could have played different positions.
Jason Kelce, the older of the two brothers, played running back and linebacker at Cleveland Heights High School, and he was terrific at both positions. As a linebacker, he earned league defensive MVP with 105 tackles as a senior, including 33 for a loss. As a running back, he averaged 9.5 yards per carry.
His positions fluctuated after walking on as a linebacker at Cincinnati. He redshirted in 2006 and was Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year. The next season, he began to transition to offensive line, and saw limited action at center and guard. By the 2008 campaign, Kelce was the Bearcats' starting left guard, a position he would hold down until he left for the NFL in 2011. It wasn’t until he reached the Eagles that he made a full-time transition to center, taking over as the team’s starter immediately after being selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
Travis Kelce, too, played primarily in the offensive backfield at Cleveland Heights. His role was quarterback, however. And he was a standout dual-threat QB; he collected more than 1,000 yards through the air and on the ground as a senior in 2007.
Like his brother, Travis Kelce redshirted his first year with the Bearcats. In 2009, his second year on the team, he saw action both at tight end and at quarterback in the Wildcat formation. He missed all of 2010 due to a violation of team rules; when he returned in 2011, he was a full-time tight end. Over his last two years in Cincinnati, he showed off his explosive athleticism. As a senior, he racked up 722 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He became the No. 63 overall pick in 2013 by the Chiefs.
Neither Kelce was heavily recruited
Surely, the two brothers who are among the most athletic at their positions in the NFL must have been highly sought-after recruits, right?
Well, not exactly. According to 247Sports, Jason Kelce was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school in 2006 despite earning honors as both an an offensive and defensive player. He wound up walking on at Cincinnati before earning a starting role with the Bearcats and then becoming a standout NFL player.
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Travis Kelce’s path was about the same. 247Sports Composite Rankings had him as a two-star recruit and the No. 1,583-ranked player in the 2008 class. He did receive scholarship offers from several schools, but he wound up going to play at Cincinnati alongside his brother.
By 2011, Jason and Travis Kelce were starters for the Bearcats.
Hall of Fame brothers?
From under-recruited to ranking among the greatest of all time, the Kelce brothers appear on track to be one of the first pairs of brothers inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Jason Kelce is a six-time Pro Bowler, a five-time first-team All-Pro and a Super Bowl champion who has played in all but six possible games in his pro career. His streak of 122 consecutive regular-season starts is the longest by a center since Chris Myers' run of 123 from 2007-14, per NBC Sports.
While offensive linemen don’t often have the stats that make it clear when someone is clearly bound for Canton, Kelce has ranked in the top five in PFF offensive grade among centers in all but four full seasons of his career, and he was the No. 1 center in the NFL for three straight years (2017-19). Should he continue playing into his Age 36 season, he looks poised to keep adding to his resume.
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It’s much easier to make the statistical argument for Travis Kelce. He ranks sixth among tight ends in career touchdown receptions (69), fourth in receiving yards (10,344) and fifth in receptions (814). He is a four-time first-team All-Pro, an eight-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion.
He also has several records to bolster his Canton claim. He holds the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end (1,416), seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards (seven) and consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards (seven). Kelce is already in the inner circle of best tight ends of all time, and at only 33 he still has time to build on that legacy.
There is a chance they don’t wind up as the first pair of brothers inducted into the Hall of Fame as players. Peyton Manning is already in Canton, and his brother Eli will be eligible for induction in 2025. But one thing is for certain: Jason and Travis Kelce appear headed for the Hall after their careers are over.
Not the first Super Bowl featuring brothers
The Kelce brothers will be the first to play against one another in the Super Bowl, but siblings have reached the big game before.
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Jim and John Harbaugh, coaching the 49ers and Ravens, respectively, faced off in Super Bowl 47. It was the first Super Bowl with brothers as opposing head coaches. They were also the first pair of brothers to be head coaches in the NFL. John Harbaugh remains the Ravens’ head coach, while Jim Harbaugh is now the head coach at the University of Michigan.
Brothers have played in the same Super Bowl, but for the same team. Defensive backs Jason and Devin McCourty became the first twins to play in the same Super Bowl. The two helped the Patriots beat the Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl 53.
Source: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/kelce-vs-kelce-super-bowl-brothers/pvjnd7i6unxghezrv4dfxk85