Philadelphia Eagles fans sparked a bidding war to score a letterman jacket signed by Jason Kelce‘s wife, Kylie Kelce, and the limited edition merch went to another fan-favorite Philly couple.
Jason, 36, and his brother, Travis Kelce, revealed the identity of auction’s winner during the Wednesday, November 29, episode of their “New Heights” podcast by introducing known Eagles fan Rob McElhenney days after the final bid came in at $100,000. (The auction closed on Friday, November 24, and raised money for the Eagles Autism Foundation.)
McElhenney, 46, went on to explain how he got involved in the giveaway. “I was just on Twitter … and I saw that the jacket was up for auction and it was a great foundation, something that we believe in and love and have a lot of connections to,” he said. “And I really love the jacket, I thought it was beautiful. I thought, ‘Hey, this is a great cause, a great jacket. Put me in for $10,000.’ And I think within a couple of days, someone came in for [$20,000].”
McElhenney was surprised to see his bid doubled. “I thought, ‘Wow, alright. Now we’re getting serious,'” he teased, noting that he was certain he had the jacket in the bag after upping his offer to $25,000 — until he was outbid again. “Now it feels personal.”
The auction was anonymous, but McElhenney was convinced Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was his biggest competition. “They were having issues [on the site] because I was smashing the button as hard as I could,” he teased. “I couldn’t believe somebody was immediately jumping on every time I bid.”
McElhenney submitted one more bid to honor Jason ($62,000 in reference to the Eagles center’s jersey number) and then discovered who was countering his offers. “I got a text from somebody that I know who said, ‘I’ve been the one bidding against you, bozo,'” he said. “It did not even cross my mind that this was a possibility. And it turned out that I live with this person.”
McElhenney’s wife, Kaitlin Olson, joined the podcast and revealed that she was going head-to-head with her husband online. “An inside job!” Jason exclaimed as Travis commended Olson’s “sneaky” move.
Olson, 48, echoed McElhenney’s support for the Eagles Autism Foundation and pointed out that the jacket is a women’s style. “I find out on [social media] how much he’s bidding,” she joked. “And from Jason Kelce who’s saying he’s crashing the site. I was like, ‘No, no, I’ll be crashing the site.'”
The couple, who star alongside one another on the hit series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, added that they were “honored” to get involved with a good cause. “I win, basically,” Olson said. “I win. … He will not be wearing the jacket, ever.”
When Olson gushed that Kylie, 31, looks “great” in the vintage Kelly Green jacket, Jason said, “She has a way of making anything look good.” (A similar style was previously worn by the late Princess Diana in the ’90s.)
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Fans followed along with McElhenney on X (formerly Twitter) as he submitted his various bids before the auction closed. “A great cause and the greatest jacket ever made? Yes please. @JasonKelce @Eagles @eaglesautism,” he tweeted earlier this month.
Kylie, meanwhile, has worked closely with the Eagles charity for several years. “EAF knows that they can’t get rid of me,” she said in a January interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Even if I’m not there in an official capacity, I’ll just keep volunteering. Once football is done, but let’s be real, I don’t think football will ever be done. But once Jason is done snapping the football on a regular basis, I can’t see us ever not having a part in EAF. We have that personal connection and we could never step away.”
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