Former Philadelphia Eagles star Jason Kelce had some strong words for the NFL on the 2026 league schedule. The eight-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion is one of the most legendary figures in Eagles history, and his word carries weight. For now, he doesn’t think things are irreparably broken, but he is trying to pump the brakes on the direction of the league’s scheduling.
Talking with his brother, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce, Jason discussed the NFL’s latest schedule release, more holiday games, and island games on more days throughout the week.
Former Philadelphia Eagles C Jason Kelce Sends Warning to the NFL on the 2026 Schedule
GettyJACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 06: ESPN Broadcaster Jason Kelce (formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles) looks on before the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs at EverBank Stadium on October 06, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” Kelce said on his podcast, via Ari Meriov. “Sunday is the day of football, right? Outside of going to church in the morning, if you’re still religious and you do that. Sunday is [when] so many games happen, and that’s what you grow up and you gear your entire week around watching football on Sunday.”
“It’s an institution at this point, the NFL playing games on Sunday. With every day that we keep adding in there, we keep getting away from that just a little bit. And I worry that — I think the game got big, one of reasons it became so popular and big, is because all of the games — it was an event. Sunday is the NFL. And everybody set their week apart to tune into their games that were happening on Sunday. And you’re watching kind of all of them now, taking place across the country with Sunday Ticket. I worry that we’re getting away from that just a little bit by building too many of [these non-Sunday games].”
Just this year, the NFL is holding multiple games on the Saturdays leading into the playoffs, several Christmas Day games, a game on the first Friday of the season, a game on the Wednesday dubbed “Thanksgiving Eve,” and more. Kelce isn’t wrong that the league is putting more and more games into primetime “island” slots, thereby reducing the number of games played on traditional Sundays.
For the Eagles, they play two Monday night games, two Thursday night games (including one on Christmas Eve), and at least one Saturday games (with the potential for one more against the Giants during the final week of the regular season. Other teams have it worse — the Rams will play between six and eight non-Sunday games.
The Eagles Look to Three-Peat in the NFC East
No team in the NFC East had won the division in back-to-back seasons since 2003. The Eagles just did it in 2024 and 2025, though last season ended prematurely with a home playoff loss to the 49ers.
The competition should stiffen in 2026, however. The Cowboys have reloaded on defense while the Giants have renewed hope with a new head coach and the Commanders should be healthy again with arguably the best quarterback in the division. If Philadelphia is to win their division for the third season in a row, they’ll have their work cut out for them.
Ex-Eagles Star Jason Kelce Sends Warning to NFL on 2026 Schedule