Seven-time All Pro center Jason Kelce revealed on Wednesday that he lost his 2018 Super Bowl ring in a kiddie pool full of chili during the "Lombaby" Games on the campus of the University of Cincinnati (UC).
The Lombaby Games pit UC student-athletes against academics in goofy, Olympic-style games, including one where contestants searched two pools filled with Skyline Chili for Kelce's Super Bowl ring along with other decoy rings.
In the end, the decoys were found, but the authentic Philadelphia Eagles ring emblazoned with 219 diamonds and 17 green sapphires had disappeared.
"I legitimately lost my Super Bowl ring in this event," Jason Kelce said during Wednesday's episode of "New Heights," a podcast he hosts with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs star, Travis. "They could not find it."
The rings were hidden in socks and submerged in the chili. Jason Kelce feared that the sock containing his Super Bowl ring might have been kicked out of the inflatable pool and thrown away by mistake.
"What did you expect to happen?" Travis said. "You're such [an]… imbecile."
"So I think we safely assume that my Super Bowl ring is now in a landfill somewhere in the Cincinnati tri-state area," Jason told his brother.
Jason and Travis had served as referees and commentators for the UC event.
Jason had hoped that his support team might be able to use a metal detector to scan the chili after the event was over. As it turns out, Skyline Chili has trace amounts of iron in it, which rendered the metal detector useless, according to the recently retired 36-year-old center.
He has since submitted an insurance claim and hopes that the ring manufacturer, Jostens, can supply a replacement.
Each 10-karat championship ring boasted a gemstone total weight of 9.15 carats and contained symbols on every surface that told the story of an underdog team that overcame all obstacles to roll through the playoffs and eventually defeat the Tom Brady-led Patriots by a score of 41-33 in Super Bowl LII. It was the first time the Eagles raised the Vince Lombardi Trophy aloft in the team's 85-year history.
Jason, who is considered one of the best centers of all time, announced his retirement on March 4, 2024, after 13 NFL seasons with the Eagles. Younger brother, Travis, 34, just claimed his third Super Bowl ring as a tight end for the champion Kansas City Chiefs. He is famously linked romantically to pop princess Taylor Swift.
Credits: Jason Kelce image by Governor Tom Wolf from Harrisburg, PA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Super Bowl ring photo courtesy of Jostens.
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