How Jason Kelce is making in America with his Underdog brand

Time of India

25-04-2025

Credit: Getty Images
In a world where celebrity brands are often little more than hastily stitched logos slapped onto generic goods, Jason Kelce is doing something different. He is doing something rare.
The retired Philadelphia Eagles star, a man once trusted to snap footballs under the blinding lights of Super Bowls, is now putting his faith in cotton, fabric mills, and the stubborn ideal that "Made in America" can still mean something real.
Today, Kelce officially launches his Underdog brand's new collection: a line of pocket T-shirts and French terry sweatshirts designed to be everything he believes clothes should be — heavy, durable, comfortable, and, most importantly, entirely American-made. Not just stitched here, but grown, spun, knitted, dyed, and finished across the United States, from the cotton fields of the Southeast to factories in Los Angeles.
The shirts, priced at $45, and the sweatshirts, at $79, are produced in collaboration with American Giant, a San Francisco-based company that has spent the last decade proving that domestic manufacturing is not dead, merely sleeping.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Want Lower Bills Without Changing a Thing?
elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill
Learn More
Undo
A Personal Mission, Not Just a Business
For Kelce, the project is deeply personal.
"I grew up going into steel mills with my father," he recalled, speaking from his home in Philadelphia, his fourth daughter only days old. "The concept of American workers making things was ingrained early. And I just always gravitated toward it."
It is tempting to frame Kelce's move into apparel as part of the now-familiar post-athlete playbook — a pivot to business, a bid to extend fame. But for Kelce, this is something different: not a pivot, but a return. A return to the blue-collar ethos that shaped him, the same ethos that made him a beloved figure in Philadelphia, a city where hard work and loyalty still matter more than flash.
Building It Piece by Piece
Underdog, named after the Eagles' self-imposed moniker during their 2018 Super Bowl run, has existed since 2022. But until now, it was more an idea than a movement — a series of shirts celebrating Philadelphia's grit, stitched together in the uncertain terrain of American sourcing. "You quickly learn," Kelce said, "that even if a tag says 'Made in the U.S.', parts of it could still come from overseas."
Finding American Giant changed that. The company offered Kelce what few could: control over the full supply chain, and a promise that every thread would honour the commitment he had made, not just to his brand, but to the story he wanted to tell.
Bayard Winthrop, CEO of American Giant, remembers Kelce as unusually hands-on. 'Jason had a lot of small opinions,' he said with a smile — preferences about the drape of a T-shirt, the stretch of a cuff, the exact feel of a fabric that should be tough but never scratchy.
And so, they built it, piece by piece. The cotton came from farms in the Carolinas. The fabric was knitted and dyed in regional mills. The garments were cut and sewn in Los Angeles. Kelce visited the factories himself, standing on the floors, meeting the workers, tracing the quiet, complicated dance that turns a cotton boll into a piece of clothing.
"The eye-opening part for me," Kelce said, "was how many steps there are. How many people touch just one T-shirt. It's easy to forget that."
A Quiet Rebellion Against Fast Fashion
Most Americans have forgotten. Today, less than 2% of the clothes bought in the United States are made domestically. Globalisation, convenience, and price competition have hollowed out what was once a defining feature of American economic life.
Although Underdog's emphasis on American manufacturing arrives at a time when economic nationalism is again a political flashpoint, Kelce is careful not to politicise his efforts. Unlike many public figures, he has steered clear of endorsing political candidates, including former President
Donald Trump
, whose administration had prominently championed "Made in America" policies. For Kelce, the choice is less about ideology and more about a personal connection to working-class values and the belief that craftsmanship still matters.
"I have no issues with global trade whatsoever," he said carefully. "But there are really awesome reasons to support homegrown businesses. It's not about making a political statement. It's about recognising value."
Value, for Kelce, is something tangible: the pride of an American worker, the heft of a well-made sweatshirt, the memory of steel mills and Friday night lights.
Bringing Philadelphia Along for the Ride
Yet even in his idealism, Kelce is pragmatic. The garments, though American-made, could not be produced in Philadelphia, the city he now calls home. Decades of industrial decline have left it bereft of the infrastructure needed for large-scale textile manufacturing. "It was discussed," Kelce said. "But the facilities just aren't there anymore."
Still, the city is woven into the brand's DNA. Every screen print and embroidery is done locally. And, of course, there is the green — the unmistakable Eagles green. It had to be there.
"Philadelphia bleeds green," Kelce said, laughing. "If we didn't have a green shirt, it would have felt like malpractice."
Making Something That Lasts
In a marketplace dominated by fast fashion and empty marketing, Jason Kelce's Underdog stands as a quiet rebuke — a reminder that sometimes, making something the right way, for the right reasons, still matters.
Even if it takes a little longer. Even if it costs a little more. Even if it's only a T-shirt.