“He and Travis have a great relationship,” Eli Manning tells PEOPLE exclusively of Jason and Travis Kelce’s sibling bond
The brotherly love is strong in the Kelce and Manning families!
Ahead of Jason Kelce’s broadcasting debut on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, Eli Manning shared with PEOPLE his predictions on the first-year analyst’s commentary when Travis Kelce takes the field.
“He and Travis have a great relationship,” Eli tells PEOPLE exclusively at a Corona event held in New York City on Aug. 27. “Obviously he’ll want them to win and to play well, but he’s probably hoping for Travis to trip one time or to mess up just so he can call him out,” he jokes.
As the brother of fellow quarterback Peyton Manning, Eli knows what it’s like to share the field with a sibling, and couldn’t help but bust on the Kelce brothers as their family takes on a new football dynamic since Jason retired from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jason will make his broadcasting debut as a pre-game analyst on Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. ET on Monday Night Countdown. He will sit behind the desk each week throughout the regular season as part of his multi-year agreement with ESPN.
“I’m excited for him and his new journey and path of getting into TV,” Eli says of Jason.
“He’s a character,” Eli tells PEOPLE of Jason. “He already does unbelievable job on the podcast and everything he’s doing, so I think he’ll just be natural,” he says in reference to Jason’s New Heights show that he shares with Travis.
As Eli heads into his third year as a broadcaster, his number one tip for Jason ahead of his debut on air is to “let your natural personality come out” — though, he stresses that the Super Bowl winner “does not have a problem doing that.” He adds, “So I think he’ll do a great job.”
In addition, Eil says Jason’s experiences as a long-time center will aid in his commentary behind the mic as analyst. “He’s also smart playing in the trenches of the offensive line so he knows about defense, he knows about leverage, he knows about run game pass protection.”
And Eli feels that it’s “good” Jason has plans lined up immediately after retirement. As someone who’s been in his shoes, Eli explains: “This is what we’ve been doing our whole lives. So to stay involved, he’s going to know the players because he played against them last year — so he’s going to be pretty fresh in the mind of everything going on, which is good.”
