Jason Kelce says he wants to revive Backyard Football, Baseball video games
Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce may have his second career lined up when he decides to step away from the NFL for good.
Kelce, speaking on his “New Heights” podcast alongside his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, said he’s been working up a plan to bring back the “Backyard Football” and Backyard Baseball” video games.
“Oh, dude — I don’t even know if I want to mention this, because I’ve secretly been looking into seeing if anyone holds the rights to ‘Backyard Football’ and ‘Backyard Baseball,'” Kelce said. “Because I want to buy it and get this thing going again. That was the best game ever. It was so electric. Imagine playing ‘Backyard Football’ right now on your phone because you could do that whole thing on your phone. It wasn’t that complicated.”
“Backyard Sports,” the iconic gaming series, released its first game in 1997. “Backyard Baseball” was the first release, with “Backyard Basketball,” “Backyard Football,” “Backyard Soccer” and ‘Backyard Hockey” following in later years. The gaming franchise released its final console game, “Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush,” in 2010. “Backyard Baseball” and “Backyard Basketball” released to IOS and Android devices in 2015. The gaming series hasn’t released any new content since.
Jason Kelce undecided on Eagles future
Perhaps Kelce will be the man to get the ball rolling, provided those who own the rights to the franchise are willing to give it another shot. But for now, Kelce is focused on his football future, specifically if he wants to return in 2024 or retire. The 36-year-old earned his seventh Pro Bowl and sixth All-Pro nod this past season despite being one of the oldest offensive linemen in the league.
Kelce remains undecided on his future, but wants to remain inside the Eagles’ organization regardless of his decision.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen for me, but I do know I still want to be involved in the organization and still want to be a part of it — regardless of what the decision is,” Kelce told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Because I don’t want to ever feel like I’m on the outside looking in on these achievements and these accolades and these opportunities that largely represent entire cities and fan bases and organizations.”