Shaq offered a warning to Jason Kelce as the longtime Eagles center contemplates retiring from the NFL.
“My advice to you if you are going to retire: Accept it, enjoy your family, brother,” Shaq recently told Kelce on “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”
“I made a lot of dumbass mistakes to where I lost my family and I didn’t have anybody. That’s not the case for you, so enjoy your beautiful wife, enjoy your beautiful kids, and never dwell on what we had. What we had is what we got. You got the ring, people know who you are. Enjoy, because again, I was an idiot, and I’ve talked about it a long time. I lost my whole family. I’m in a 100,000 square-foot house by myself.”
Shaq (l.) and Jason Kelce (r.) on “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”YouTube/The Big Podcast with Shaq
Shaq talks with Jason Kelce on “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”YouTube/The Big Podcast with Shaq
Jason Kelce talks with Shaq on “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”YouTube/The Big Podcast with ShaqEXPLORE MORE
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Shaq’s statements echoed what he had told Page Six of a chat he had with the Super Bowl-winning center.
The Basketball Hall of Famer has admitted to not being the “best partner” to his ex-wife, Shaunie, with whom he has four children — sons Shareef and Shaqir, and daughters Amirah and Me’arah; Shaunie also has a son from a previous relationship.
Shaq initially filed for divorce from Shaunie Nelson in 2007, but the divorce was called off less than a year later.
Shaunie then filed for separation in 2009, and their divorce was finalized in 2011.
Shaq also has a daughter, Taahirah, with ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh, whom he dated before marrying Nelson.
“I had two perfect women and I messed it up,” Shaq said on Monica’s “MoTalk Radio” in June. “My first one was my baby mother, Arnetta [Yardbourgh], and then I met Shaunie [Nelson]. Shaunie was also a perfect woman and I messed it up.
Shaq with his ex-wife Shaunie in 2008.WireImage
Jason Kelce with his wife Kylie in September 2023.Getty Images for Prime Video
Jason Kelce with wife Kylie and their three daughters.kykelce/Instagram
“Yeah, you know, we were young and always just doing dumb stuff. But, the good thing about our relationship is that they forgave me and we have a good relationship now. But when you ask me about the perfect woman — I had two perfect women and I messed it up, just by, you know, being dumb.”
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Kelce, who supported brother Travis at Chiefs playoff games en route to their Super Bowl 2024 win, is expected to make a decision soon on whether to return for a 14th season with the Eagles or hang up his cleats.
The 36-year-old has three daughters with his wife, Kylie.
