Shaq offers advice to Jason Kelce on potential retirement with a warning

Shaquille O’Neal is still one of the most recognizable faces of the NBA even though he’s no longer on the court. Jason Kelce is also a very recognizable face in his own game, as one of the NFL’s best centers to ever play the game. 

This offseason, Kelce is once again contemplating if he should play another season in the league, something he’s wrestled for a few years now. 

“Shaq,” an NBA Hall of Famer, 15-time All-Star and 14-time All-NBA first-team honoree, hasn’t played in the league since the 2010-11 season with the Boston Celtics. So, he decided to offer some advice for Kelce if he does indeed hang up his pads and cleats for good. 

“My advice to you is, if you are going to retire, accept it. Enjoy your family, brother,” O’Neal said on his “The Big Podcast with Shaq” where Kelce was a guest. 

O’Neal went a bit deeper into his advice, which comes from his own mistakes that he’s made in his personal life. 

“I made a lot of dumb mistakes to where I lost my family and I didn’t have anybody,” he explained. “That’s not the case for you, so enjoy your beautiful wife, enjoy your beautiful kids and never dwell on what we had. What we had is what we got. You got the ring, people know who you are. Enjoy because, again, I was an idiot. And I’ve talked about it a long time. 

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“I lost my whole family. I’m in a 100,000 square-foot house by myself.” 

O’Neal’s relationship problems off the court are something he’s been very open about throughout his career. He said he wasn’t the “best partner” to his ex-wife, Shaunie Nelson. They share four children together, sons Shareef and Shaqir, as well as daughters Amirah and Me’Arah. 

He also shares a daughter, Taahirah, with ex-girlfriend, Arnetta Yardbourgh. 

Back in June, O’Neal spoke on Monica’s “MoTalk Radio,” where he said he “messed it up” with “two perfect women.”

So, O’Neal wants Kelce to learn from his mistakes, though Shaq is well aware of the type of family man the Philadelphia Eagles’ center is. 

He has three daughters with his wife, Kylie: Wyatt, Elliotte and Bennett. 

Kelce has certainly been in the spotlight more the past two seasons, first in 2022 when he and his brother, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce, made NFL history when they played against each other in the Super Bowl. 

Then, the celebrity status intensified in 2023 when Travis began dating Taylor Swift. The Kelce family became household names, and Jason has not been afraid to let loose, especially during the playoffs after his Eagles were knocked out in the wild card round. 

Whether it’s his shirtless celebration in Buffalo, or wear a luchador mask after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Jason is always going to be himself. 

Will that be on an NFL field as a fan or a player next season? Who knows? 

But Shaq knows Kelce has everything he needs to be happy post-career.