Jason Kelce spent 13 seasons with the Eagles. Now he’ll get the chance to call a Birds game.
The former offensive lineman turned podcaster and ESPN announcer is jumping to the booth to call a handful of NFL games this season on the NFL Network, the network announced.
Kelce will join play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner to call four games, including the Eagles’ Week 5 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Oct. 11.
Here are the four games Kelce, Pasch, and Warner are slated to call:
Week 4: Colts at Commanders in London (Oct. 4)
Week 5: Eagles at Jaguars in London (Oct. 11)
Week 7: Steelers at Saints in Paris (Oct. 25)
Week 16: TBD matchup (Dec. 26)
ESPN inherited seven NFL games as part of its purchase of the NFL Network. The remaining three will be called by play-by-player Bob Wischusen and one-time Eagles executive Louis Riddick.
Molly McGrath will serve as sideline reporter for both teams.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are back to call Monday Night Football, with King of Prussia native Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge on the sidelines. Because of his role as a consultant with the Miami Dolphins, Aikman won’t have access to practice facilities or team practices this season, the same restrictions placed on Tom Brady.
Jason Kelce is entering his third NFL season with ESPN. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
While Kelce has yet to call a full NFL game, he did swap out his South Philly tuxedo for a suit to call part of a 2024 Eagles game alongside Monday Night Football’s Buck and Aikman.
“I think I got better as it went. There were a couple [of moments] trying to figure out where you fit in and what to say,” Kelce said following the game. “In the heat of the moment, you have to offer a perspective or something the viewer can take and enjoy … it’s difficult.”
Kelce will also be back for his third season as a studio analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Countown alongside Marcus Spears and host Scott Van Pelt. The show is adding two new analysts: Jason McCourty (replacing Ryan Clark, who was laid off last month) and Pat McAfee, ESPN’s omnipresent star who will still host his daily show and continue as a co-host of College Gameday.
Pat McAfee will join Jason Kelce on “Monday Night Countdown” this season. Darron Cummings
Kelce is in the final year of a three-year deal he signed with ESPN in 2024. During that time, he’s appeared on the network’s coverage of the Masters and The Golf League, and a five-episode stint as a late-night host in Philly.
He also launched a new YouTube series called Kelce Versus, which features the former offensive lineman trying out other sports, including driving for NASCAR and learning how to dunk a basketball (which he did in front of a live crowd in Los Angeles in June). It’s unclear how many episodes there will be.
Kelce also remains a presence at Eagles training camp and continues to host the popular New Heights podcast with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Exhausted? Some fans are, too. But Kelce has a lot of time to fill since having retired from the Eagles in 2024 and is focused on bucket-list stuff he couldn’t do during his playing days.
“We’re definitely capitalizing on the ability to go and do random things,” Kelce told CBS analyst and Eagles pregame announcer Ross Tucker on his podcast last month. “Maybe too much. We got to talk as a team, but it’s been fun.”
ESPN went through another round of layoffs Tuesday, this time stemming from its purchase of the NFL Network.
The cuts targeted both on-air talent and behind-the-scenes employees, according to sources not authorized to speak publicly. The layoffs are part of wider cutbacks at Disney previewed in April by CEO Josh D’Amaro and a consolidation of employees at ESPN and the NFL Network.
In a note to staff Tuesday morning, ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro said the company was forced to “make some difficult decisions about job impacts” stemming from the merger, and that the moves were intended to “best position us for the future.” Employees were being notified Tuesday, Pitaro said.
“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted,” Pitaro added.
ESPN declined to comment.
Longtime ESPN announcer Karl Ravech is among those reportedly being let go. Brett Davis, Brett Davis-Imagn I
Ravech had been with ESPN since 1993, covering baseball for more than three decades in a variety of roles, including as the voice of Sunday Night Baseball for four seasons. He had been slated to call the Little League World Series for ESPN next month.
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero was also reportedly among the cuts. He’s been with the network since 2017 and is one of the network’s top insiders, along with Ian Rapoport and Philly native Mike Garafolo.
Rapoport signed a multiyear contract with ESPN in April.
ESPN also parted ways with former Carolina Panthers quarterback and NFL MVP Cam Newton, as first reported by Outkick’s Bobby Burack. Newton has been a frequent guest on First Take with Stephen A. Smith during the NFL season.
Longtime NFL Network analyst Charles Davis, best known for calling NFL games on Fox and CBS, was also let go, according to The Athletic. This fall he’ll replace Gary Danielson as CBS’s lead college football analyst on Big Ten games alongside Brad Nessler.
Other ESPN staffers reportedly let go were veteran SportsCenter anchor David Lloyd, sports injury analyst Stephania Bell, and ex-NFL linebacker Bart Scott, who cohosted an ESPN radio show in New York City with one-time 94.1 WIP host Chris Carlin.
Boxing and MMA reporter Andreas Hale and staff writer Dan Hajducky both announced their own layoffs on social media.
“I’ve been here before. Change is constant, but the outcomes are uncertain,” Hale wrote.
Ryan Clark pulled from live show
Ryan Clark was pulled off NFL Live Monday and informed he was being let go. Jay Biggerstaff, Jay Biggerstaff
Layoffs arrived early for Ryan Clark, the former NFL defender turned TV analyst who has been a star at ESPN for the past decade.
As first reported by The Athletic, Clark was taken off the air midway through NFL Live on Monday and informed he was being let go after reporters began inquiring about his status with the network.
In an Instagram post Tuesday morning, Clark described the incident as “madness.”
“My peace is with God, and my humility comes from within,” Clark wrote. “I’ll continue to build myself so the world can never strip me of what’s real.”
Clark joined ESPN in 2015 and has been a prominent personality across the network’s NFL programming and daytime shows, including Monday Night Countdown with former Eagles star Jason Kelce.
Longtime ESPN host Stephen A. Smith was particular upset by Ryan Clark’s ouster. Jerome Miron/Imagn
Longtime ESPN personality and First Take host Stephen A. Smith called it a “rough day” at the network.
While several regulars from his show were among the cuts, the one-time Inquirer columnist and reporter was particularly irked by Clark’s ouster. Smith described him as “arguably the best NFL analyst in America.”
“The bosses know I’m not happy about this decision. I’ve made that very, very clear,” Smith said Tuesday afternoon on his SiriusXM show Straight Shooter, adding later in the show, “Was I asked what I thought, what my feeling were? Yes, I was. And of course I said we have to keep him.”
Smith also spent time outlining all the cutbacks ESPN has gone through dating back to May 2013. A lot of familiar names were forced out the door in the past decade-plus, including Jeff Van Gundy, Jayson Stark, Todd McShay, Zach Lowe, and Ed Werder.
“This ain’t the days when ESPN could just hire and hire and hire some more without ever having to let go or lay off anybody,” Smith said. “Those days are long gone.”
ESPN purchased NFL Network and NFL Media in February in a deal valued between $2.5 billion and $3 billion. As part of the deal, all NFL Network staffers and personalities became ESPN employees, and the league took a 10% stake in the network.
NFL Network isn’t going anywhere, and will still have original programming, including Good Morning Football, and will broadcast a handful of NFL games.
It’s the second round of layoffs at ESPN in recent months. In the spring, about 30 behind-the-scenes staffers were let go as part of companywide layoffs that reportedly impacted around 1,000 employees.
NEW YORK —When Jeffrey Lurie purchased the Eagles in 1994, he had two goals.
Goal one, as any owner will say, was to win. Goal two was to make the franchise synonymous with a “global health cause.”
Lurie’s accomplished the former, winning two Super Bowls in the past decade. On Tuesday, he was celebrated for the latter.
At ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Awards at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, the Eagles owner was presented the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award for his work with the Eagles Autism Foundation and the Lurie Autism Institute. The two initiatives have collectively donated more than $100 million toward Autism research and clinical care programs. The award is given annually to someone who uses their position in sports to help disadvantaged groups.
“You know, [winning] was sort of unexpected,” Lurie told The Inquirer. “[We] devote so much time to what we’re trying to do off the field with autism research and spend so much time trying to assure the Eagles are great … It’s a wonderful award. You know, I’ve sort of followed it over the years, and it’s nice to be recognized for humanitarian things.”
The Eagles Autism Foundation was founded in 2019 following the first Eagles Autism Challenge — an annual 5K bike ride to raise research funds for the neurological condition. The latest Eagles Autism Challenge had 6,500 participants and raised $16 million.
The Lurie Autism Institute is a center for autism research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine. It opened last June after Lurie and his family donated $50 million to the two institutes. It is the largest center for autism-specific research.
Jeffrey Lurie (center) shown with Kylie (left) and Jason Kelce after winning the named Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award. Jason and Kylie presented Lurie with his award.Courtesy of ESPN
“Autism was natural for me, my family, and millions of others around the world,” said Lurie, whose brother Peter is on the spectrum. “We’re getting there. We want the Eagles to be synonymous with trying to do everything possible that’s innovative with autism research and serving that community. And we’re certainly getting there. And it’s nice to be recognized on a national basis, and hopefully we’ll have a global impact.”
Lurie was supported by his Eagles family at the event. Jason Kelce — who raised $1.26 million for the Eagles Autism Foundation at his “Team 62” event in Sea Isle City earlier this month — presented Lurie’s award along with his wife and Not Gonna Lie podcast host Kylie Kelce.
Other notable figures present at Tuesday’s award show included Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry; former NBA player Jarron Collins; New York Giants co-owner Laurie Tisch; Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin; and former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott.
Moments from the Sports Humanitarian Awards are scheduled to appear during the ESPYs, ESPN’s annual sports awards, on Wednesday (ABC, 8 p.m.).
‘Boo-Yah’
The namesake for the ENSPIRE award belongs to longtime SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott, who died from appendiceal cancer in 2015. After being diagnosed in 2007, Scott stayed at ESPN while undergoing chemotherapy. Months before his death, Scott delivered a now-famous speech at the ESPYs in which he told the audience to “fight like hell.”
Sydni Scott, one of Stuart’s two daughters, was 14 at the time of her father’s famed speech. She attended Tuesday’s award show.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and Jason Kelce embrace after Lurie was honored for his humanitarian efforts with the Eagles Austim Foundation and Lurie Autism Institute.Ben Solomon
“This is one of my favorite nights of the entire summer,” said Sydni Scott. “I really think of my dad’s ENSPIRE Award as an award for people that are breaking barriers to bring more people into sports. You think back to the 90s, early 2000s, that was my dad. He was bringing Black culture, hip-hop, rap — all of those types of things into a very straight-laced kind of sports journalism and sports broadcasting environment.”
“In the past years you see that there are people who are working to make sure that deaf people are able to enjoy sports and Indigenous people are able to enjoy sports,” she added. “Every year, there is a community that I didn’t even realize.”
While posing on the red carpet on Tuesday, Lurie mouthed “Boo-Yah” — Scott’s famous SportsCenter catchphrase.
“It means a lot to have the award that Stuart Scott epitomized,” Lurie said. “I admired him. You know, he was inspirational. He was authentic, always genuine, and his battle with cancer was something we all were struck by, how he handled it. And having had family members with cancer, it was inspirational. To have the ENSPIRE Award inspired by Stuart is a something I’m proud of.”
You open the door to the rental and let in the roaring summer sun, and you’re fully prepared for a relaxing day on beach: Toy Story-themed towel, Cherry Float Coke Zeros, and a thin layer of suntan spray coating everything in the canvas tote bag.
But you could really use a snack.
There’s a lot going on this holiday weekend, and it’s a mess. So the last thing you need is another one.
What you’re looking for is a classic Jersey Shore treat, but ice cream isn’t built for travel and a slice of pizza has too many variables.
You need a “Walking Taco.”
Walking tacos are offered at the Wells Fargo Center.Michael Klein / Staff
I’m Tommy Rowan, and I’m once again subbing in for Amy S. Rosenberg. I’m a lifelong Jersey Shore-goer who was raised on visits to the Ocean City boardwalk and Wonderland Pier. I spent my teenage years on the Wildwood boardwalk, my 20s in Sea Isle City, and nowadays I have family in North Wildwood. And maybe it’s because I’m within spitting distance of 40, or because places I once loved are being torn down, I find myself wanting to cram in more of everything.
Which brings us back to the food that moves.
The “Walking Taco” is for people who want to walk and talk, and who want to fit in more and keep moving.
It’s a snack-sized bag of Fritos that’s crushed into pieces, garnished with seasoned ground beef, shredded cheddar cheese, and homemade pico de gallo, and eaten with a plastic spoon.
It encourages you to get your steps in, but it’s not quite fast food. That’s why they don’t call it a “Running Taco.”
It’s best eaten on the walk to the beach, but if you’re a “save for later” kind of person, it still works: The bag is self-contained, and yet it’s protected from splashes of sand and saltwater. And it’s an easy disposal: Just crush the bag into a ball and toss it in a trash can.
It’s salty and crunchy and cheesy, but it’s not a true overindulgence.
A cheeky hot dog stand in Sea Isle City has unfound claims to “the original,” but the product can be found up and down the Philly-favored beach towns between Atlantic City and Cape May — and many swap out Fritos for Doritos.
And, honestly, what better way to ring in the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence than with a uniquely American product: a nonrecyclable bag of ultraprocessed salty particles, topped with chemically altered cheese strings, covered in oily animal fat, and topped with what can only be described as a “modern interpretation” of pico de gallo.
It’s America in a fun-size.
📮 What’s your favorite beach snack? And how do you feel about the “Walking Taco?” What are you eating this holiday weekend? Let me know what you think by replying to this email, and your most interesting responses may end up in a future newsletter. Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them here.
😡 We’re in for a dangerously hot holiday weekend. Remember to hydrate.
🏖️ Pumped up. Sand-pumping operations are expected to begin next week in Ocean City, while replenishment of the Seven Mile Island Beaches will reportedly begin toward the end of the summer. Avalon’s beaches are up first, with work scheduled to start in mid-August, followed by Stone Harbor in October.
🛵 Take a number. A reminder that New Jersey is now taking appointments for e-riders to register their e-bikes, per a new state law (which doesn’t seem to affect visitors from Pennsylvania). We have a full look at the confusing law here.
🎃 Halloween in July? Spirit Halloween is getting a head start on the spooky season and listing seasonal job openings on its website, including for pop-up stores at the Shore in May’s Landing, Rio Grande, and Egg Harbor Township.
🏫 Stretching out. Dominique Dawes, a former Olympian who founded a chain of gymnastics schools, is planning to open a new location in South Jersey this fall. The new school is part of the former gold medalist’s expansion into the greater Philly region.
🇺🇸 The Declaration. Two days before the country’s 250th anniversary, on July 2, Avalon is hosting a public reading of the Declaration of Independence. And then a few days after, on July 8, Cape May is planning its own public reading and reenactment. Both are worth checking out.
👻🦀 Ghost crabs! Every Thursday between 8 and 9 p.m., the Nature Center hosts a ghost crab hunt on the beaches of Cape May. So grab a flashlight and watch the translucent crustaceans scurry in the spotlight. Preregistration is required.
🌭 Hot Dog Tommy’s in Cape May. No. 1, fantastic name. No notes. And No. 2, helluva chili cheese dog.
🎥 Beach movies. Catching a flickoutdoors at the Shoreis underrated. Ocean air, salty breezes, and overpriced ice cream cones coalesce to create the most perfect conditions to take in a picture. Cape May and Margate show movies on the beach, Sea Isle utilizes the Band Shell in Excursion Park, and Wildwood hosts at Byrne Plaza.
🧢 Card show. If you’re looking for an escape from the heat this weekend, the Sports Card, Toy, Comic & Collectibles Show will be trading in childhood treasures and autographed memorabilia at the Wildwoods Convention Center on the boardwalk.
🎸 Free tunes in Atlantic City. On Wednesday, Bayou Blues guitarist-vocalist Tab Benoit is playing Mardi Gras on the Boardwalk, a New Orleans-themed concert series at Kennedy Plaza. The free show starts at 7 p.m.
🥡 Delicious takeout. Craig LaBan is a big fan of the General Tso’s at China Sea of Absecon. He went inland for his latest list of places to eat at the Shore.
Shore snapshot
Jason Kelce takes a selfie with fans at his annual fundraiser in Sea Isle City.Courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles
After starting last year’s fundraiser with tear-away shorts and a Speedo, Jason Kelce was comparatively reserved this year for his entrance at his and wife Kylie Kelce‘s sixth annual “Shore Birds” event at the Ocean Drive in Sea Isle City. The event benefits the Eagles Autism Foundation.
I hope the next milestone after the Semiquincentennial is easier to pronounce and simpler to spell.
🧠 Trivia time
On June 27, 1958, this civil rights leader addressed a convention of Quakers in Cape May in a little remembered episode in this cultural icon’s extraordinary life.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Wonderland Pier and the unmistakable value boardwalk rides bring to the Jersey Shore, which is what made Joseph Farley’s recent submission jump out.
The station wagon seemed to bulge like in a Willie the Worm cartoon; where endless hordes of Mickey Mouse types invade a building. Our family of ten filled the seats with the baby on mom’s lap. It was 1955, the tires were near bald and Dad kept a gallon of water handy to feed the radiator should it geyser in heavy traffic. We left Cheltenham, PA for Wildwood already singing, “On the Way to Cape May.” My pockets bulged with the contents of my piggy bank, my life’s savings. It was a six-hour trip, four of them spent in Dorothy, a town on the Tuckahoe Road, enjoying lunch while Dad made repairs to the car.
That night I choose to ride the “Salt & Pepper Shaker” on Morey’s Pier; a scary ride that took you into the stars. At the top, it flipped upside-down. All the coins in my pockets fell out, clanking off the girders to oblivion. This broke ten-year old, turned moocher, still had a glorious vacation. I returned home brown as a berry with a tale that became family lure, a “feel sorry for dad story” that still brings sympathetic sighs every time I tell it.
Send us your Shore memory in 200 words! Tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space during the summer.
✌️ That should do it. Amy’s back from vacation next week, so I’ll see ya at the rest stops.
— Tommy
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
Philadelphia now has three Rocky statues. That is three statues celebrating a fictional Philadelphian. And while many great Philadelphians already have statues, there are so many who don't.
Who do you think should be Philadelphia’s Next Top Statue?
To decide, we’ll present you with two random Philadelphians from our list of just 26. For each matchup, you choose who deserves to be honored more. The winner will move on to the next round to face another Philadelphian.
You’ll keep going until we end up with your definitive Philadelphia’s Next Top Statue.
story continues after advertisement
story continues after advertisement
story continues after advertisement
If you're happy with , you can skip the remaining challengers, and lock them in as your choice.
story continues after advertisement
You think Philadelphia should build a statue of winner and percentageWinner of Inquirer readers agree with you. The most popular winning statues, so far, are popularWinners.
You stuck with longest for the longest, picking them over longestLength other statues.
(()=>{var be=(e,t)=>()=>(t||e((t={exports:{}}).exports,t),t.exports);var U=be(s=>{var Ae={0:”Jan.”,1:”Feb.”,2:”March”,3:”April”,4:”May”,5:”June”,6:”July”,7:”Aug.”,8:”Sept.”,9:”Oct.”,10:”Nov.”,11:”Dec.”};function $(e){return e===void 0&&(e=new Date),Ae[e.getMonth()]}var Ce={0:”Jan”,1:”Feb”,2:”Mar”,3:”Apr”,4:”May”,5:”Jun”,6:”Jul”,7:”Aug”,8:”Sep”,9:”Oct”,10:”Nov”,11:”Dec”};function O(e){return e===void 0&&(e=new Date),Ce[e.getMonth()]}function u(e){return e==null}function G(e){return typeof e==”number”&&isFinite(e)}function A(e){return G(e)&&Math.floor(e)===e}var Le=[“one”,”two”,”three”,”four”,”five”,”six”,”seven”,”eight”,”nine”],Pe=[“million”,”billion”,”trillion”,”quadrillion”,”quintillion”,”sextillion”,”septillion”,”octillion”,”nonillion”,”decillion”],z=[“th”,”st”,”nd”,”rd”,”th”,”th”,”th”,”th”,”th”,”th”],xe=[11,12,13];function _(e){if(u(e))return””;var t=+e;return A(t)?xe.indexOf(t%100)>-1?z[0]:z[t%10]:””}var Be=[“first”,”second”,”third”,”fourth”,”fifth”,”sixth”,”seventh”,”eighth”,”ninth”],je=new RegExp(/s+([^s]*)s*$/);s.apdate=function(e){return e===void 0&&(e=new Date),$(e)+” “+e.getDate()+”, “+e.getFullYear()},s.apdatetab=function(e){return e===void 0&&(e=new Date),O(e)+” “+e.getDate()+”, “+e.getFullYear()},s.apmonth=$,s.apmonthtab=O,s.apnumber=function(e){if(u(e))return””;var t=+e;return A(t)?t=10?e.toString():Le[t-1]:e.toString()},s.aptime=function(e){e===void 0&&(e=new Date);var t,o,n=e.getHours(),i=e.getMinutes(),a=i===0;if(a){if(n===0)return”midnight”;if(n===12)return”noon”}return n0?n:12):(t=”p.m.”,o=n===12?n:n-12),a?o+” “+t:o+”:”+(i<10?"0"+i:i)+" "+t},s.capfirst=function(e){if(u(e))return"";var t=String(e);return""+t.charAt(0).toUpperCase()+t.slice(1)},s.intcomma=function(e){if(u(e))return"";var t,o=+e;return G(o)?((t=o.toString().split("."))[0]=t[0].replace(/B(?=(d{3})+(?!d))/g,","),t.join(".")):e.toString()},s.intword=function(e){if(u(e))return"";var t=+e;if(!A(t))return e.toString();var o=Math.abs(t);if(o<1e6)return e.toString();var n=Math.ceil(Math.log(o+1)/Math.LN10)-1,i=n-n%3,a=t/Math.pow(10,i);return(a=Math.round(10*a)/10)+" "+Pe[Math.floor(i/3)-2]},s.ordinal=function(e,t){if(t===void 0&&(t=!1),u(e))return"";var o=+e;return A(o)?t&&o{let t=document.querySelector(`.js-reveal[data-id=”${e}”]`);t?t.classList.add(“is-hidden”):console.log(“No reveal component found with the id”,e)},Se=e=>{let t=document.querySelector(`.js-reveal[data-id=”${e}”]`);t?t.classList.remove(“is-hidden”):console.log(“No reveal component found with the id”,e)},T={init:()=>{},show:Se,hide:ve};var M,ke=(e,t)=>{M=M||window.PMNdataLayer,M?M.push({event:”misc_event”,eventAction:e,eventLabel:t}):window.location.hostname.includes(“localhost”)?console.log(“Analytics event:”,e,t,”(not actually being sent due to localhost)”):console.log(“Failed to push analytics event”,e,t)},b={event:(e,t)=>{ke(e,t)}};var p,J,Ne=()=>{p=document.getElementById(“js-inno-toast”)},Te=e=>{if(!p)return;p.innerHTML=e,p.classList.add(“is-active”);let t=()=>{p.addEventListener(“transitionend”,Me,{once:!0}),p.classList.remove(“is-active”)};clearTimeout(J),J=setTimeout(t,5e3)},Me=()=>{p.innerHTML=””},c={init:()=>{Ne()},showToast:Te};var gt=U();var y=e=>{if(e)return e.trim().toLowerCase().normalize(“NFD”).replace(/[u0300-u036f]/g,””).replace(/[^A-Z0-9 ]/gi,””).trim().replace(/ /g,”-“).replace(/–/g,”-“)};var C=()=>/Android|webOS|iPhone|iPad|iPod|BlackBerry|IEMobile|Opera Mini/i.test(navigator.userAgent);var x=(e,t=null,o=null)=>{o||(o=document.querySelector(“head”));let n=document.createElement(“script”);n.type=”text/javascript”,n.src=e,t&&(n.onload=t),o.appendChild(n)},K=()=>(window.PMNdataLayer?.[0]!==void 0&&window.PMNdataLayer[0])?.analytics?.user?.state===”Subscribed”,V=()=>{let t=(window.PMNdataLayer?.[0]!==void 0&&window.PMNdataLayer[0])?.analytics?.user?.state;return window.location.host.includes(“zzz-systest”)||window.location.host.includes(“pmn.arcpublishing.com”)||window.location.host.includes(“stage.fusion.inquirer.com”)||typeof t>”u”},Y=()=>{let t=(window.PMNdataLayer?.[0]!==void 0&&window.PMNdataLayer[0])?.analytics?.user?.hasAdsFreeReading;return!!(t&&t==1)},B=()=>window.location.host.includes(“localhost”),Z=(e,t=””)=>{let o=document.querySelector(`template#${e}`);if(!o||!(o instanceof HTMLTemplateElement))return console.log(`Couldn’t find .`),null;let n=o.content.cloneNode(!0).childNodes;if(n.length==0)return console.log(`Template ${o} has no children, returning null.`),null;n.length>1&&console.log(`Template ${o} has multiple children, only returning the first.`);let i=n[0];return i.setAttribute(“data-id”,t),i},j=(e,t)=>{let o=[…e.querySelectorAll(“[data-populate]”)];e.dataset.populate&&o.unshift(e);let n=o.filter(i=>{let a=i.closest(“[data-populate-context]”);return!a||a==e});for(let i of n){let N=i.dataset.populate.trim().split(/s*,s*/).map(w=>w.split(/s*:s*/));for(let[w,m]of N){let f=w.split(“.”).reduce((d,we)=>d?.[we],t),F=f==null||f==null,ge=m?.split(/s+/)||[“innerHTML”];for(let d of ge)d.startsWith(“.”)&&i.classList.toggle(d.substring(1),F?!1:f),!F&&(d==”innerHTML”?i.innerHTML=f:d.startsWith(“@”)?i.setAttribute(d.substring(1),f):d.startsWith(“–“)&&i.style.setProperty(d,f))}}};var Q=e=>{for(let t=e.length-1;t>0;t–){let o=Math.floor(Math.random()*(t+1));[e[t],e[o]]=[e[o],e[t]]}return e};var Ee=()=>{document.querySelectorAll(“.js-share”).forEach(e=>{e.addEventListener(“click”,()=>{qe(e)})})},De=()=>{document.querySelectorAll(“.js-share”).forEach(e=>{let t=e.dataset.url||[location.protocol,”//”,location.host,location.pathname].join(“”);e.dataset.url=t})},He=(e,t)=>{navigator.clipboard.writeText([e,t].join(” “)),b.event(“click”,`copied share text to clipboard | ${[e,t].join(” “)}`)},qe=async e=>{let t=e.dataset.text,o=e.dataset.url;if(!navigator.canShare||!C())He(t,o),c.showToast(“Copied to clipboard!”);else try{await navigator.share({text:t,url:o})}catch(n){console.log(n),c.showToast(“Hmm, something went wrong…”)}},Ie=(e,t,o)=>{let n=document.querySelector(e);n?n.classList.contains(“inno-share__button”)?(n.dataset.text=t,o&&(n.dataset.url=o)):console.warn(`${e} is not a share button`):console.warn(`${e} not found`)},L={init:()=>{Ee(),De()},updateTextToCopy:(e,t,o)=>{Ie(e,t,o)}};var X=async(e,t)=>(await fetch(`https://inq-junto.herokuapp.com/${e}`,{method:”POST”,headers:{“Content-Type”:”application/json”},mode:”cors”,body:JSON.stringify(t)})).json(),E=()=>{let t=document.querySelector(“.js-inno”).dataset.junto;if(t)return t;throw new Error(“no junto id found”)},v={getDefaultId:()=>E(),vote:(e,t=E())=>{X(“vote”,{poll:t,ballot:e})},results:async(e=E())=>await X(“results”,{poll:e})};var ee=[{name:”Betsy Ross”,category:”Civil”,born:”1752″,died:”1836″,placement:”Betsy Ross House”,bio:”She may not have actually made the first U.S. flag (according to the Smithsonian), but she did make U.S. flags for 50 years and is a Philly and national icon.”},{name:”Boyz II Men”,category:”Music”,born:”1985″,died:””,placement:”CAPA (where they formed)”,bio:’These “Motownphilly” icons started in 1985, when the Boyz met at Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA).’},{name:”Cecil B. Moore”,category:”Civil”,born:”1915″,died:”1979″,placement:”21st Street & Cecil B. Moore Avenue”,bio:”A leader in Philadelphiau2019s Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s who successfully campaigned to desegregate the cityu2019s building trades unions and expanded opportunities for Black workers.”},{name:”Chase Utley”,category:”Sports”,born:”1978″,died:””,placement:”Citizens Bank Park”,bio:`”The Man” helped the Phillies win it all in 2008, played in six All-Star Games, and is an important plot point in an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.`},{name:”Chubby Checker”,category:”Music”,born:”1941″,died:””,placement:”Italian Market”,bio:`Before the “Twist” icon made it big, the South Philly-raised musician worked at a produce stand in the Italian Market. He’s now in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.`},{name:”Dawn Staley”,category:”Sports”,born:”1970″,died:””,placement:”Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School”,bio:”Raised in North Philly, she transformed the University of South Carolina into a womenu2019s basketball powerhouse, winning multiple NCAA championships while also earning Olympic gold medals as both a player and coach.”},{name:”Dr. Drew Weissman & Dr. Katalin KarikxF3″,category:”Science”,born:”1959, 1955″,died:””,placement:”James G. Kaskey Memorial Park”,bio:”These Penn researchers won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2023 for their work that made the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines possible. Those vaccines saved an estimated 2.5 million lives, according to a JAMA study.”},{name:”Gamble & Huff”,category:”Music”,born:”1943, 1942″,died:””,placement:”309 S. Broad St. (where Philadelphia International Records was located)”,bio:”The songwriting and production duo created the Philly sound and built Philadelphia International Records, which produced a string of hit records that helped define 1970s R&B and soul.”},{name:”Guion Bluford”,category:”Science”,born:”1942″,died:””,placement:”Overbrook High School (which he attended)”,bio:”The Overbrook High grad was an Air Force officer and pilot before becoming the first Black astronaut in space, flying aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. He logged more than 688 hours in space.”},{name:”Daryl Hall & John Oates”,category:”Music”,born:”1970″,died:””,placement:’The steps of Mitten Hall at Temple: “If I had a picture of Temple, it is hanging outside of Mitten Hall and singing … hanging on those steps with friends, street corner singing.” — Daryl Hall’,bio:”They may be in the midst of a feud, but these maneating, dream-making Philly icons who have delighted the city, and the world, started at Temple University.”},{name:”Hercules Posey”,category:”Civil”,born:”1748″,died:”1812″,placement:”The President’s House Site (where he was enslaved)”,bio:”The enslaved chef who ran President George Washingtonu2019s household kitchen, both in Mount Vernon and at the President’s House in Philadelphia, later escaped to freedom.”},{name:”Isaiah Zagar”,category:”Art & Culture”,born:”1939″,died:”2026″,placement:”Palumbo Rec Center (a park near Magic Gardens)”,bio:”Philadelphia would suddenly look naked without Zagar’s tile-junk-and-mirror murals. His masterwork, Magic Gardens, is rightfully beloved, but he was also a great champion of South Street, the city, and Philadelphians.”},{name:”Jason Kelce”,category:”Sports”,born:”1987″,died:””,placement:”Philadelphia Museum of Art steps or Lincoln Financial Field”,bio:”It is only a matter of time before this Super Bowl champ is honored with a metal likeness. The question is: Do you put it next to the Linc or atop the Art Museum steps in his Mummer-celebration attire?”},{name:”Jill Scott”,category:”Music”,born:”1972″,died:””,placement:”Reyburn Park (near her childhood home)”,bio:”The Grammy winner helped define the neo-soul movement of the early 2000s with her blend of soul, hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and spoken word.”},{name:”Jim Gardner”,category:”Civil”,born:”1948″,died:””,placement:”Jim Gardner Way”,bio:”He was Philadelphiau2019s leading news anchor for more than four decades and became one of the most trusted and recognizable figures in the city.”,Notes:’for category, maybe something like “Media” or “News”?’},{name:”John Coltrane”,category:”Music”,born:”1926″,died:”1967″,placement:”The Yard on John Coltrane Street”,bio:”He developed his groundbreaking style while living and performing in Philly during the 1940s and 1950s, before becoming one of the most influential musicians in jazz history.”},{name:”K. Barry Sharpless”,category:”Science”,born:”1941″,died:””,placement:”Outside the Science History Institute”,bio:”A pioneer of u201Cclick chemistry,u201D a revolutionary method for quickly and reliably joining molecules together, he has earned not one but two Nobel Prizes in chemistry.”},{name:”Kevin Bacon”,category:”Art & Culture”,born:”1958″,died:””,placement:”Rittenhouse Square (two blocks from his childhood home)”,bio:’The Philly-grown actor is beloved for hits like “Footloose,” “A Few Good Men,” and “Apollo 13.” His father, Edmund Bacon, is referred to as “the father of Modern Philadelphia,” making Kevin true Philly royalty.’},{name:”M. Night Shyamalan”,category:”Art & Culture”,born:”1970″,died:””,placement:”Avenue of the Arts”,bio:’The king of plot twists directed many Philly-based movies, including “The Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable,” and “Split.” He is not a favorite to win this competition, but what if … he pulled it off at the last second?’},{name:”Oscar Hammerstein II”,category:”Art & Culture”,born:”1895″,died:”1960″,placement:”Avenue of the Arts”,bio:’The Doylestown-raised songwriter composed the lyrics to classic Broadway musicals such as “Oklahoma!,” “Carousel,” and “The Sound of Music,” helping redefine the American musical. His father built the Met.’},{name:”Patti LaBelle “,category:”Music”,born:”1944″,died:””,placement:”John Bartram High School (her high school)”,bio:’The u201CGodmother of Soulu201D is known for her powerhouse vocals, hits like “Lady Marmalade,” and her famous sweet potato pie.’,Notes:’maybe add “and her famed sweet potato pie” to the bio?’},{name:”Questlove”,category:”Music”,born:”1971″,died:””,placement:”CAPA (where the Roots were formed)”,bio:”The drummer and cofounder of the Roots helped redefine hip-hop with live instrumentation while building a celebrated career as a producer, filmmaker, and cultural historian.”},{name:”Sheryl Lee Ralph”,category:”Art & Culture”,born:”1956″,died:””,placement:”Avenue of the Arts”,bio:’The actress, who has adopted Philly as her home when she is not filming, originated the role of Deena Jones in “Dreamgirls” and won an Emmy for her performance on “Abbott Elementary.”‘},{name:”The Delfonics”,category:”Music”,born:”1965″,died:””,placement:”Overbrook High School (where they met)”,bio:”The Delfonics are known for their lush harmonies and romantic hits like u201CLa-La Means I Love Youu201D and u201CDidnu2019t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),u201D which helped define the Philadelphia soul sound.”},{name:”Wanda Sykes”,category:”Music”,born:”1964″,died:””,placement:`2000 block of Sansom Street (“Philly’s Funniest Blocku201D)`,bio:”The comedy legend is known for her sharp standup and her Emmy-winning work as a writer, actor, and comedian. She was also instrumental in bringing the WNBA to Philly.”},{name:”Will Smith”,category:”Art & Culture”,born:”1968″,died:””,placement:”Tustin Recreation Center (where he shot some b-ball outside of his school)”,bio:’The Oscar- and Grammy-winning actor and rapper was, famously, born and raised in West Philadelphia. The Fresh Prince is known as much for “Men in Black” as he is for “Miami.”‘}];var We=[1,5,10],l=new Array,r=new Object,h=new Array,S=null,D=0,q,te,Fe=async()=>{l=Je(),q=await $e(),te=Oe(3),r.red=l.shift(),r.red.side=”red”,r.blue=l.shift(),r.blue.side=”blue”,H()},Je=()=>{for(let e of ee){let t={…e,id:y(e.name),marbleBaseSrc:`https://interactives.inquirer.com/projects/2026/06/statues/1782400824702/assets/_resized/statues/${y(e.name)}–marble–1200px.webp`,marbleColorSrc:{red:`https://interactives.inquirer.com/projects/2026/06/statues/1782400824702/assets/_resized/statues/${y(e.name)}–marble–red–1200px.webp`,blue:`https://interactives.inquirer.com/projects/2026/06/statues/1782400824702/assets/_resized/statues/${y(e.name)}–marble–blue–1200px.webp`},outlineSrc:`https://interactives.inquirer.com/projects/2026/06/statues/1782400824702/assets/_resized/statues/${y(e.name)}–outline–1200px.webp`,chosenCount:0};l.push(t)}return l=Q(l),l},$e=async()=>{let t=(await v.results()).ballotAsPercentages.winner;return Object.entries(t).map(([i,a])=>({id:i,count:a})).sort((i,a)=>a.count-i.count)},Oe=e=>{let t=q.slice(0,e);return t=t.map(n=>{let i=l.find(a=>a.id==n.id);if(i)return i.name}),new Intl.ListFormat(“en”).format(t)},H=()=>{let e=Z(“js-picker-stub”);return j(e,{…r,index:D,readableIndex:D+1}),D++,e.querySelectorAll(“.js-picker-button”).forEach(o=>{o.addEventListener(“click”,()=>{ze(e,o.dataset.side)},{once:!0})}),document.querySelector(“.js-pickers”).appendChild(e),e},ze=(e,t)=>{let o=t==”red”?”blue”:”red”;e.classList.add(“is-complete”),e.querySelector(`.js-picker-side[data-side=”${t}”]`).classList.add(“is-selected”),e.querySelector(`.js-picker-side[data-side=”${o}”]`).classList.add(“is-unselected”),r[t].chosenCount++;let a=r[t],N=r[o],w=[a.id,N.id].sort((m,W)=>m.localeCompare(W)).join(“-“);if(v.vote({[`${w}`]:a.id}),v.vote({side:t,[`${a.id}-streak`]:a.chosenCount},”2026-statues–FULL”),b.event(“click”,`Voted | ${a.name}`),h.push(N),l.length>0){r[o]=l.shift();let m;We.includes(h.length)?(m=_e(),H()):m=H(),document.querySelector(“.js-pickers-left”).textContent=l.length,document.querySelector(“.js-pickers-current”).textContent=a.name.trim(),h.length>12&&document.querySelector(“.js-picker-skip”).classList.add(“is-visible”),ne(m,3e3)}else oe()},oe=()=>{document.querySelector(“.js-picker-skip”).classList.remove(“is-visible”);let e=r.red.chosenCount>r.blue.chosenCount?r.red:r.blue;h.push(e),h=h.sort((i,a)=>a.chosenCount-i.chosenCount);let t=q.find(i=>i.id==e.id),o=t?Math.round(t.count):0,n=document.querySelector(‘.js-reveal[data-id=”post”]’);j(n,{winner:e.name,longest:h[0].name,longestLength:h[0].chosenCount,percentageWinner:o,popularWinners:te}),L.updateTextToCopy(“.js-share”,`I think Philadelphia should build a statue of ${e.name}. Choose your Philadelphia’s Next Top Statue.`),v.vote({winner:e.id}),T.show(“post”),ne(n,50)},_e=()=>{let e=document.querySelector(“.js-pickers”),t=e.querySelector(“.js-adbox:not(.is-visible)”);return t&&(e.appendChild(t),t.classList.add(“is-visible”)),t},ne=(e,t)=>{S&&clearTimeout(S),S=setTimeout(()=>{e.scrollIntoView({behavior:”smooth”,block:”start”})},t),window.addEventListener(“scroll”,()=>{S&&clearTimeout(S)},{once:!0})},Ge=()=>{window.addEventListener(“scroll”,()=>{Ue()}),document.querySelector(“.js-picker-skip-button”).addEventListener(“click”,()=>{b.event(“click”,`Skipped | ${l.length} candidates left`),oe()})},Ue=()=>{let e=document.querySelectorAll(“.js-picker:not(.is-in-view)”);e&&e.forEach(t=>{t.getBoundingClientRect().top{Fe(),Ge()}};var Ke=()=>{Y()&&document.querySelectorAll(“.js-adbox”).forEach(t=>{t.classList.add(“is-hidden”)})},ae={init:()=>{Ke()}};var P,se=!1,Ve=async()=>new Promise(e=>{setTimeout(()=>{console.log(“simulating createShareLink for localhost”),e(“https://inquirer.com/interactives”),Ye()},100)}),Ye=()=>{let e=document.querySelector(“.js-gift-toast-receiver”);!e||!(e instanceof HTMLElement)||setTimeout(()=>{let t=e?.querySelector(“span”);t&&(t.innerHTML=”Gift link copied to clipboard“)},20)},Ze=()=>{let e=window.services?.createShareLink;e&&(P=e),B()&&(P=Ve),P&&Xe()},Qe=async e=>{let t=”text/plain”,o=async()=>{try{return await P(window.location.pathname)}catch{e.dataset.state=”error”,c.showToast(“Hmm, we couldn’t generate a gift link…”)}},n=new ClipboardItem({[t]:o()});await navigator.clipboard.write([n]).catch(i=>{console.log(i),c.showToast(“Couldn’t copy to clipboard, try again?”),e.dataset.state=”error”}),c.showToast(“Gift link copied to clipboard!”),e.dataset.state=”complete”},Xe=()=>{document.querySelectorAll(“.js-gift”).forEach(t=>{(K()||B()||V())&&t.classList.add(“is-available”)}),document.querySelectorAll(“.js-gift-button”).forEach(t=>{t instanceof HTMLButtonElement&&t.addEventListener(“click”,()=>{t.classList.contains(“disabled”)||(t.dataset.state=”loading”,se=!0,Qe(t),setTimeout(()=>{t.dataset.state=”ready”},2e3))})});let e=document.querySelector(“.js-gift-toast-receiver”);!e||!(e instanceof HTMLElement)||et(e)},et=e=>{new MutationObserver(o=>{for(let n of o){let i=[…n.addedNodes].at(0);if(!(i instanceof HTMLElement))return;se&&c.showToast(i.outerHTML)}}).observe(e,{subtree:!0,childList:!0})},re={init:()=>{Ze()}};var tt=()=>{window.addEventListener(“message”,e=>{if(e.data[“datawrapper-height”]){let t=e.data[“datawrapper-height”];for(let o in t)document.querySelector(`#datawrapper-chart-${o}`).setAttribute(“height”,t[o])}})},ot=()=>{document.querySelectorAll(“.js-datawrapper-graphic”).forEach(e=>{x(`https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/${e.dataset.id}/embed.js`,null,e)})},nt=()=>{window.addEventListener(“message”,e=>{let t=e.data;document.querySelectorAll(`iframe[src*=”${t.id}”]`).forEach(n=>{n.style.height=`${t.height}px`})},!1)},it=()=>{document.querySelectorAll(“.js-pym-graphic”).forEach(e=>{if(typeof window{new window.pym.Parent(e.id,e.dataset.iframe)};typeof window.pym>”u”?x(“https://pym.nprapps.org/pym.v1.min.js”,t):t()}})},le={init:()=>{tt(),ot(),it(),nt()}};var k,at=()=>{document.querySelectorAll(“.js-hover”).forEach(e=>{e.addEventListener(“click”,()=>{ce(e)}),e.addEventListener(“mouseenter”,()=>{ce(e)}),e.addEventListener(“mouseout”,()=>{de(e)})}),window.addEventListener(“scroll”,()=>{k!==null&&st()})},st=()=>{(k>window.scrollY+100||k{de(e)})},ce=e=>{e.classList.add(“is-visible”),k=window.scrollY},de=e=>{e.classList.remove(“is-visible”),k=null},ue={init:()=>{at()}};var g,I,R=!0,rt=()=>{g=document.querySelectorAll(“.js-video-autoplay”)},lt=()=>{window.addEventListener(“resize”,()=>{he()}),window.addEventListener(“scroll”,()=>{he()}),g.forEach(e=>{e.addEventListener(“volumechange”,t=>{e.muted!==R&&!C()&&(R=e.muted,ct())})})},he=()=>{let e;g.forEach((t,o)=>{let n=t.getBoundingClientRect(),i=n.height/2;n.y-i&&(e=t)}),e!==I&&(I=e,g.forEach(t=>{t.pause()}),e?e.play():I=null)},ct=()=>{g.forEach(e=>{e.muted=R})},me={init:()=>{rt(),g&<()}};var pe={init:()=>{ie.init?.(),ae.init?.(),re.init?.(),le.init?.(),ue.init?.(),T.init?.(),L.init?.(),me.init?.(),c.init?.()}};var dt=()=>{},fe={init:()=>{dt()}};var ut=document.querySelector(“.js-inno”),ye=()=>{pe.init(),fe.init()};ut?ye():new MutationObserver((t,o)=>{if(document.querySelector(“.js-inno”)){o.disconnect(),ye();return}}).observe(document,{attributes:!0,childList:!0,subtree:!0});})();
Jason Kelce must have learned that “no shirt, no shoes, no service” applies to pants as well.
After starting last year’s fundraiser with tear-away shorts and a Speedo, Jason Kelce was comparatively reserved this year for his entrance when he and wife Kylie Kelce hosted the sixth annual “Shore Birds” event at the Ocean Drive in Sea Isle City benefiting the Eagles Autism Foundation on Wednesday.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 24, 2026
Local social media influencer Katie Begley, also known as Popstar Katie, led the workout, which took place on the grass at Sea Isle City’s Excursion Park.
While most of the other current and former football players opted to sport their own names and numbers on their jersey, Allen, who played with the Eagles across four seasons from 2014-17, instead represented one of his former teammates.
Allen, a staple at the Team 62 fundraiser, not only had a new jersey, but he also had a new job this year, helping Donna Kelce serve — or in Allen’s case, eat— water ice, alongside Eagles edge rusher Jalyx Hunt.
Cornerback Cooper DeJean, defensive tackle Ty Robinson, and safety Andre’ Sam were also in attendance, along with chief of security for the Eagles Dom DiSandro, and Cole Peterson, assistant to the head coach.
Entering his ninth season as an Eagle, Zach Ertz could see the writing on the wall. With the continued emergence of tight end Dallas Goedert and a rough four-win 2020 season at the front of mind, it seemed certain the two parties would be headed for a divorce.
But finding a landing spot for the three-time Pro Bowler took longer than originally anticipated. Expecting to be dealt before the 2021 preseason, Ertz was still on the roster when training camp arrived. So on a whim, the veteran tight end decided to dye his hair bleach blond.
“I essentially hadn’t been there all offseason. I had ankle surgery so I was missing OTAs anyway. And I showed up for training camp with blond hair,” Ertz said on his former teammate Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast. “I don’t regret much about my time in Philly or this career, but the one thing I do regret is kind of that phase, showing up to training camp with blond hair.”
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz jogs off the field after the Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons to open the 2021 season.YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
Jason Kelce, who played alongside Ertz for over eight seasons, was as sure as anyone that the Southern California native would get dealt before games started. He was so confident that he put his own head of hair on the line.
“It was so obvious, unfortunately, that my time was probably coming to an end, that Jason was like, ‘Bro, when are you getting traded? You’re going to get traded any day now. If you’re still on the team Week 1 then I’ll dye my hair,’” Ertz recalled. “I don’t think I had anything to lose in this situation.”
And as the summer days rolled on, Ertz’s wait for a trade didn’t materialize — at least not before the Eagles’ Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons. So when the longtime teammates ran out onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they were rocking a matching hairdo.
“I just wanted Zach to have something to look forward to if he was still on the team, like, ‘At least Jason dyed his hair to match,’” Kelce recalled.
Most important, Ertz’s wife and former U.S. women’s national soccer team star Julie Ertz, who was also a guest on this week’s episode, said she liked her husband’s new look.
“That’s really all that matters, honestly,” Zach quipped.
As for Kelce, Ertz referred to him as Guy Fieri as both the hosts and guests reacted an image of a blond Kelce, that Jason called “the worst photo of me possible.”
Jason Kelce dyed his hair to match Ertz’s at the start of the 2021 season.HEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
“I don’t think Kylie [Kelce] liked your hair as much as I liked Zach’s hair,” Julie joked.
Ertz remembers his Philly days
Ertz was also asked to reflect on his time in Philly.
“When you spend nine years somewhere, you’re going to always have a natural affinity for the place,” Ertz said. “Unfortunately … I wasn’t able to play my whole career [in Philadelphia].”
But what Ertz most appreciated from his time on the Eagles were his teammates. After getting selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, Ertz quickly inserted himself into a young Eagles foundation designed to remain intact for years — one that also included Kelce, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Lane Johnson.
“The thing I look back on fondest is our core group of guys that we had together for a long period of time, with you, Lane, BG, Fletch, myself,” Ertz said. “It wasn’t easy all the time for any of us. Like there were times we’d get killed in the media or whatever it was, and I always knew you four always had my back regardless of what we were going [through]. And I hope you guys felt the same about me.
“And it is a little emotional talking about — I don’t know why — but just going through that, just being around the guys. No one is going to remember about how many yards or catches or starts we had, but I do remember the day-to-day, grinding, the stories of you kicking over a trash can because you didn’t like the way a coach was treating someone else, or Lane hiding your helmet — those are the things I remember.”
Eagles tight end Zach Ertz (left) and defensive end Brandon Graham (right) walk off the field after a 37-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in December 2020.DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Ertz’s time in Philly ended in November 2021 when a long-awaited trade sent him to the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles’ single-season receptions leader played two more seasons with the Cardinals and two with the Washington Commanders. But when Ertz, who is now a free agent, returned to the City of Brotherly Love with Washington, he couldn’t get the Birds’ fight song out of his head.
“Even when [I was] on the other sideline … It’s still like subtly in the back of my mind,” Ertz admitted, “singing it as I’m over there watching.”
Looking ahead, Ertz is aiming to suit up to play in his 14th NFL season, but he does not yet know where. Complicating the situation is a season-ending ACL tear that the 35-year-old suffered in a Week 14 shutout loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
But Ertz is pleased with the recovery progress he’s made and expects to be ready near the start of the season.
“We’re in a good spot. We’re like five, almost six months now from surgery, so just training every day, doing everything I can to get back to where I was,” Ertz said. “It’s a long process. There’s some long days, there’s some long weeks, some long months … it’s tough, but we’re just trying to stack these days right now.”
Ertz’s blond phase didn’t last long, but it was memorable.HEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The Eagles are headed to the shore on Wednesday for Jason Kelce’s sixth annual celebrity bartending fundraiser event at Ocean Drive in Sea Isle City.
The Team 62 at Ocean Drive fundraiser will raise funds for the Eagles Autism Foundation. During last year’s event, Kelce and the Birds raised a record-breaking $1 million — surpassing the prior year’s total of $865,000. Since 2021, they have raised more than $2.4 million for the foundation.
Ahead of this year’s Team 62 fundraiser, which is set to take place between 4-8 p.m., there will be a family-friendly event hosted by the Eagles Autism Foundation at Excursion Park between 12-3 p.m. It will feature activities like mini football as well as cheer and drum line clinics. A $25 donation will grant families access to the event.
In addition to the bartending session at Ocean Drive on Wednesday, the fourth annual Beer Bowl starts at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Sea Isle City Yacht Club, where guests can watch teams compete for a $50,000 cash prize.
For general admission to the bartending session, there will be a $10 cover charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticket packages for early admission are available online with all proceeds from the evening benefiting the Eagles Autism Foundation.
At noon on a bright June Tuesday, the scene at Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza on the Wildwood boardwalk felt more like a South Philly block party than a soft opening.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino worked the crowd at his new shop — hugging, shaking hands, posing for photos — moving easily among his friends and admirers. At 64, five years removed from the criminal justice system, the onetime alleged head of Philadelphia’s underworld is enjoying a second act that few could have predicted: cheesesteak entrepreneur, podcaster, and social-media personality.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) and Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. (right) posing with a customer outside the Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza shop in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Orbiting him with a phone and a grin was Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. — 30 years his junior — Skinny Joey’s collaborator and the man who helped set him up with a new career. While customers lined up out front for steaks, slices, photos, $35 hats, and $25 T-shirts, Perri was shooting clips for social media.
Their partnership has transformed Merlino from a flashy, polarizing tabloid fixture into a flashy, polarizing Instagram-age brand. Merlino provides the mythology, while Perri supplies the algorithm.
Symbiotically, they are building an unlikely enterprise. Merlino gives Perri access, credibility, and a bigger stage. Perri gives Merlino comic relief, social-media fluency, and a way to be seen as entrepreneurial rather than simply infamous as a reputed former mob boss.
“Without me, there’s no him,” Perri said. “Without him, there’s no me. It’s just a good mix.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino joining customers at Skinny Joey’s in Wildwood during its soft opening on June 2. They call themselves “the Schuylkill Girls” (from left): Julie Shelton, Cindy McCullough, and Terry Landy, all of whom now live in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A ‘mob media’ moment
George Anastasia, who covered organized crime for more than 30 years at The Inquirer and now teaches an organized-crime course at Rowan University, said Merlino’s new career fits a broader moment in mob media.
Former wiseguys, associates, historians, and fans now gather in a true-crime subculture known online as “MobTube,” where the lore is packaged into YouTube shows, Patreon feeds, podcasts, clips, and merch.
Merlino has lived the story that fuels the genre. One of Philadelphia’s most recognizable organized-crime figures, Merlino was convicted in 1990 for his role in a $352,000 armored truck robbery in 1987.
In 2001, he and six co-defendants were tried on federal racketeering charges, including three counts of murder and two of attempted murder. Merlino was acquitted on those counts, but served about 12 years on other charges, including gambling and extortion. A supervised-release violation briefly returned him to prison in 2014, and a second major racketeering case ended in 2018 with a guilty plea to a single illegal-gambling charge after a mistrial. In a separate trial in 2004, he was acquitted of the 1996 killing of Joseph Sodano, an underling in North Jersey. Merlino completed federal supervision in 2021, but he’s been banned from New Jersey casinos since 1988 and from Pennsylvania casinos since a 2016 incident at the former SugarHouse Casino.
And Merlino has made it no secret that he is different from many of the former figures who populate the MobTube genre. Unlike Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, John Alito, and Jimmy Calandra, Merlino never cooperated with prosecutors.
“He saw guys who cooperated come back and become media sensations,” Anastasia said. “And I think he got [annoyed] that these are all guys who, in his view, violated the code, and now they’re making money on that old life. He did his time as a stand-up guy. ‘So [to heck with that] — I’m going to make money, too.’ And he created this brand.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) and Joe Perri Jr. on the set of “The Skinny” podcast.Courtesy of Joe Perri Jr.
Perri helped make that legible to a younger audience.
“Lil Snuff is part sycophant and part guide,” Anastasia said. “He’s the one who, in a lot of ways, sets the flow. Joey is going to be Joey, but somebody has to keep bringing him back to the point.”
The rise of Lil Snuff
Before he was Merlino’s co-host, Perri was Lil Snuff.
The nickname came from his father: As a 10-year-old, Joe Sr. turned around when a cousin was calling for a dog named Snuffy. Boom. He was Snuff. When his son was born at Methodist Hospital in 1992, Snuff became Big Snuff.
As a teenager, Lil Snuffbussedtables at Stogie Joe’s, the Saloon, and Fitzwater Cafe. At 18, he joined the stagehands union. At 21, he got a job at Mall Chevrolet in Cherry Hill. The older salesmen had relationships and repeat customers. Perri’s mentor told him that he needed a lane.
It was 2013, and social media was beginning to reshape promotion. Perri started making his own brassy, unscripted commercials. “Selling Chevys for less” became his tagline.
He also made videos about gambling and food, his two passions. He was not famous, but he was visible in the South Philly-to-South Jersey social media corridor where restaurants, sports, betting, family, and neighborhood identity blur into one feed.
At the same time, Perri said, he was abusing pills. In 2014, at 22, his parents found him a rehab center in South Florida. To make sure he got there safely, they called a family friend whose Italian restaurant in Boca Raton had recently opened:
Joey Merlino.
“My father grew up with his grandfather,” Merlino said, explaining the bond. “I grew up with his father. I’ve known him since he was born.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino in 2014 at the Boca Raton restaurant bearing his name.Terry Renna / For The Inquirer
Perri said it took several attempts before recovery stuck. He has been sober since Sept. 11, 2016. “I’m big with recovery,” he said. “That’s the main thing in my life. I put sobriety first and then everything after that.”
Merlino’s — where Merlino was maitre d’ because his legal situation then precluded ownership — closed in 2016, just before the feds arrested Merlino at his home in Boca in the lead-up to his second racketeering case. “If I didn’t have this trouble, it would still be open,” Merlino said earlier this month.
After Merlino attained freedom in July 2021, producers called with movie, television, and book deals. Merlino turned them all down. “Nothing seemed right,” Merlino said. Someone brought up the idea of a podcast.
“I didn’t even know what that was,” Merlino said.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino leaving the federal courthouse in Manhattan after being sentenced on Oct. 17, 2018.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
His friend Raymond “Wags” Wagner explained the concept and suggested a loose format built around food and sports betting. Actor Kevin Connolly of Entourage fame, who was involved early as a producer, told Merlino that he needed a co-host.
“They said, ‘Who would you want?’” Perri said. “They were sending him people, and he was like, ‘I’m not doing nothing with these people.’”
Then Ray Wags suggested Perri.
“Joey was like, ‘100 percent. Get him on the phone,’” Perri said. “Kevin Connolly said, ‘Send me your videos.’ I sent him my videos, and he said, ‘You’re the guy.’ The rest was history.”
The world of ‘MobTube’
Merlino and Perri launched the video podcast in 2023. Viewers are not just watching Merlino talk about the old life. They see him bust Perri’s chops about eating too much and mock his parlays. They get gambling tips, watch them interview athletes and celebrities — all part of a South Philly generational comedy.
Perri describes it in family terms. “My dad’s my dad, but he’s also my best friend, too,” Perri said. “We gamble together. We go out together. We have fun together. So they see me and Joey as that, and they can’t figure out how we mix so good.”
“He’s good,” Merlino said. “I’m old, he’s young. He talks good, he’s funny. He’s a pain in the balls, but it’s a good fit.”
They began The Skinny podcast on YouTube, but now focus more on Patreon, where the content is unfiltered. And better monetized. Perri says TheSkinny has 1,600 Patreon subscribers paying $15.95 a month. He said their social-media pages combined average 30 million views a month.
Perri’s wife, Danielle, handles bookings and schedules. “I produce,” Perri said. “I cut the clips. I do everything. It’s me and Joey. Two-man show.”
A wider audience
When they started, Perri was still selling cars at Mall Chevrolet. But the now-shuttered dealership got tired of people showing up hoping to see Merlino instead of test-driving a Suburban.
Perri quit. The show grew.Merlino’s reinvention has coincided with a broader shift in the gambling world. Legal sportsbooks, now ubiquitous on television and online, have largely supplanted the corner bookmaker, turning an activity once associated with organized crime into a mainstream consumer business. Guests span sports, hip-hop, gambling, and entertainment, including Wallo267, Fat Joe, Ric Flair, and Bernard Hopkins.
Each booking widened his audience, and Merlino was being absorbed into a broader celebrity ecosystem.
Last October, Netflix released Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia, a docuseries revisiting the violent 1990s power struggle between John Stanfa and Merlino’s younger faction. It steered even more viewers to Merlino and Perri’s world.
‘Skinny Joey,’ wit’
Then came the cheesesteaks.
One night, Perri, Merlino, and friends were playing poker. Merlino wanted cheesesteaks. Perri said he’d make them.
“He’s like, ‘You can’t make cheesesteaks,’” Perri said. “I said, ‘Are you nuts? I’ve been making them my whole life.’”
Perri cooked some. “He was like, ‘This is the best f— cheesesteak ever,’” Perri said. “He said, ‘Let’s open up a cheesesteak place.’ I said, ‘All right. Call it Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks.’ And that was it.”
The first shop opened in March 2025 at 3020 S. Broad St., near the sports complex. From the start, Skinny Joey’s was more than a sandwich shop. It was a set. The shop leaned into Merlino’s notoriety; the sandwiches are wrapped in a collage of newspaper articles about his past.
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) working the grill beside Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. at the Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia at its opening in March 2025.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Celebrities showed up: Jason Kelce, Landon Dickerson, Mack Wilson. A customer eating a cheesesteak was good content. A recognizable person eating one on camera was better.
The restaurant also became a magnet for the kind of drama that fuels digital engagement: online beef. Podcaster Gene Borrello, a former Bonnano crime family associate and Merlino antagonist, weighed in last year on an apparent feud between Skinny Joey’s camp and Frank Olivieri of Pat’s King of Steaks. Merlino and Perri had taken issue with a video posted by Olivieri — whose great-uncle invented the steak sandwich — in which he chided shops that chop the meat on the grill. Like most online food feuds, this seems to have subsided.
Then came the deal for Wildwood, where Skinny Joey’s replaced Joe’s Pizzeria, which had been on the boardwalk at Magnolia Avenue for 15 years. There, Skinny Joey’s added pizza and stromboli, which are not sold at the South Philadelphia location.
Reflections in the pizza display case on the boardwalk at Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The pizza recipe comes from Vito’s on Haddonfield Berlin Road in Cherry Hill, and the stromboli from Pizza Shack at 15th and Oregon in South Philadelphia, both owned by Skinny Joey’s business partners Stephen Casasanto and John Fioravanti, whom Merlino also described as longtime friends.
More locations are planned. Perri said a Boothwyn shop is expected around Sept. 1, and several others are in the pipeline.
Bypassing the gatekeepers
Merlino is an extreme case of a recent phenomenon. People with complicated histories — criminal, scandalous, controversial, or simply overexposed — no longer need traditional gatekeepers to reintroduce themselves. They can speak directly to followers and monetize the attention.
Perri is not a journalist, of course, or a publicist, exactly. He is not merely a manager, producer, or sidekick. He is something in between — a new kind of local media operator.
He knows the scene, and how to make content feel unscripted even when the business behind it is deliberate. He is close enough to Merlino to bust his chops and deferential enough to preserve the hierarchy. He can translate Merlino to younger audiences without making him seem managed.
Perri softens Merlino without sanding him down. Merlino still curses, rants, and mocks rivals. Anyone they disagree with is a “bedbug.”
Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino greets a table of customers at Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks & Pizza in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
“At the end of the day, Joey isn’t going to change who he is for anybody,” Perri said. “If he can’t talk the way he wants to talk, what’s the point?”
That is part of the appeal and part of the discomfort. The audience knows Merlino’s history. They may see him as funny, defiant, loyal, misunderstood, or simply entertaining.
“There’s a segment of the American population that has always been fascinated with the outlaw: Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Don Corleone, Al Capone,” Anastasia said. “What the internet has provided is: Here are these guys in their own words. Are they being genuine? I don’t know. You can say that about any personality. But here’s a look at them without any filter.”
The filter used to be people like Anastasia.
“I was, in a lot of ways, the middleman between the people who were interested in this and the guys who were doing it,” he said. “And people who are interested in this don’t need the middleman anymore. They just go online and listen to whoever they want to listen to.”
