Jason Kelce banned from YouTube's first NFL game due to $8 million deal (2025)

The inaugural NFL stream on YouTube takes place on Friday featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers — but Jason Kelce was banned from the broadcast

Jason Kelce has been banned from the first-ever NFL stream on YouTube when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil on Friday in the 2025 season opener.

The Philadelphia Eagles legend was reportedly approached to contribute to the broadcast, but any chance of that was blocked by ESPN. It is yet another sign of a broadcaster being stingy and difficult when it comes to sharing its talent with other networks and streamers.

Kelce shares a highly popular podcast with his brother, Travis, who is set to wed global superstar musician Taylor Swift. New Heights records gigantic numbers on the video sharing platform, breaking records when Swift made an unexpected appearance earlier in August.

Jason, who has enjoyed a successful media career after retiring, has also been a spokesperson for its Sunday Ticket show, meaning working on YouTube is not out of the ordinary for the former center.

But ESPN instituted a policy several months back that would ban its talent from working on YouTube or Netflix games.

Netflix looks set to have yet another Christmas double header in the new season, which last year saw Fox give the streaming giant Greg Olsen as a color commentator — but they aren't expected to do it again this year either.

Of course, Kelce could have added a clause in his $9 million contract that would have given him the freedom to work elsewhere alongside his ESPN duties, but this seemingly has not been the case.

This is despite the NFL, pending regulatory approval, owning 10% of the network meaning the league has conflicted interest no matter the circumstances.

It is a decision that is completely understandable, as networks like ESPN pay their broadcasters lump sums of money for exclusivity and as such wish to protect their investments.

According to The Athletic, Kelce is on a three-year $24 million deal with ESPN for Monday Night Countdown, but with the likes of YouTube and Netflix expected to add more NFL games in future seasons, this stumbling block is something that will rear its head rather regularly with the legacy networks doing their utmost to ensure the streaming sites do not get a foothold in football.

Front Office Sports say ESPN has enforced this policy for several months and that they have insisted Kelce has not been singled out.

YouTube's broadcast crew boasts Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner, with Stacey Dales and the influencer Deestroying on sideline duty.

The studio crew is Kay Adams, Cam Newton, Derek Carr, Tyrann Mathieu, and Brandon Marshall, while streamer IShowSpeed will host an altcast of the game.

NBC will broadcast YouTube games, while CBS will once again do the same for Netflix.