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Time of India
25-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
How Jason Kelce is making in America with his Underdog brand
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.
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Jason Kelce Takes ‘Made in the U.S.' Very Seriously
Jason Kelce, a mellow mountain of a man, has spent most of his life fretting over offensive snaps. Now, a year into his retirement after 13 seasons as a center for the Philadelphia Eagles, Mr. Kelce has space to puzzle over other matters. Lately, he's been thinking about sweatshirts and T-shirts. And he has thoughts. Lots of thoughts. 'On the inside of a sweatshirt, I don't like when it feels fuzzy,' said Mr. Kelce, speaking on a video call from his Philadelphia home in April, just a few days after the birth of his fourth daughter. He wants a 'heavier-duty' sweatshirt, with a smidge of stretch. Something durable, 'that you can wear working or lounging around on the couch.' Oh, and it needs to be made entirely in the United States. To achieve all this, Mr. Kelce, 37, has taken matters into his own hands. Today, his Underdog apparel brand is debuting a tidy collection of crew neck sweatshirts and T-shirts, all produced — from the cotton to the completed garment — in the United States. These items are produced in collaboration with American Giant, a San Francisco-based company formed in 2012 that manufactures entirely in the United States. The American Giant-produced Underdog pocket T-shirts and French terry sweatshirts will sell for $45 and $79, respectively, and will be sold on the Underdog website. They are, to Mr. Kelce's specifications, on the burlier side. During the interview, he wore the pocket T-shirt in green, his abundant biceps mildly squeezed by the sleeves. 'I don't want to offend anybody, I never understood the reason that somebody would want to wear Gucci, or some of these high-end brands,' said Mr. Kelce, leaving unsaid that his brother, Travis, has been known to wear a Gucci hat or two. 'It's never appealed to me.' 'I would much rather wear something that symbolized a blue-collar worker as opposed to a suit,' he added, even if he does have to wriggle into a suit when he appears as an analyst for 'Monday Night Countdown' on ESPN. That Underdog's clothes are entirely made in the United States is the most gratifying part to Mr. Kelce. 'I grew up going into steel mills with my father,' he said of his childhood in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. 'So, the concept of American workers making things was something that was ingrained early. And I just always gravitated toward it.' Mr. Kelce has long been plotting for life after his last snap. In 2022, he started the 'New Heights' podcast with his brother. It remains in the top 200 of Apple's top podcasts, though it now runs behind his wife Kylie's show, 'Not Gonna Lie.' While many retired athletes pour money into car dealerships or restaurant ventures, Mr. Kelce became curious about clothes. 'I was trying to come up with what's a way that we can celebrate Philadelphia,' said Mr. Kelce, who is nothing if not an unofficial ambassador for his adopted city. 'And I love wearing shirts that represent me and everything that I believe in.' He started Underdog in 2022 as an apparel brand with vigorous nods to Philadelphia. Past graphics featured his Eagles teammates, and the name alludes to the Eagles having labeled themselves as underdogs on their way to winning the Super Bowl in 2018. It is a unique proposition from a former athlete, and one that has, to many outside the Eagles fandom, perhaps flown under the radar. Underdog does not have the techy edge of say, Tom Brady's slick, fitness-centric Brady brand. It leans more on Mr. Kelce's jolly, jumbo-size profile than on his on-field prowess. The label has made prior attempts at producing in the United States, though Mr. Kelce soon learned that even if the tag said an item had been made here, 'a good portion of that might be made overseas.' Garments that read 'Made in the United States' can be produced from cotton or other components that derive from elsewhere. In American Giant, Underdog found a partner that was capable of producing the whole garment, including the fabric, here in the United States. The cotton was harvested and finished in the Southeast, including in North Carolina. The garments themselves were produced in Los Angeles. 'These fabrics were custom-designed for Jason,' said Bayard Winthrop, the chief executive of American Giant who underscored that the ex-Pro-Bowler 'had lots of small opinions' about how the shirts and sweats should fit and feel. 'The shirts have a really gutsy, sturdy quality to them,' said Mr. Winthrop. 'They drape a certain way. They're not clingy to the body. They're not overly delicate.' Last year, Mr. Kelce traveled with Mr. Winthrop to North and South Carolina see the production process firsthand, giving him a look at how clothes are made that few people ever see, or even consider. With most apparel manufacturing having been exported overseas, only 2 percent of the clothing Americans buy is manufactured domestically. 'The eye-opening part for me was how truly decentralized this is, how many people touch just one T-shirt and how many steps there are in that process,' said Mr. Kelce. 'I had never really thought much about that.' Though this project has been in the works for around two years, it debuts at an auspicious moment, as Americans are contemplating what they're willing to sacrifice — macro- and micro-economically — to bring back American manufacturing. Hours before the interview, President Trump pulled back on steep tariffs that had unsettled the global economic landscape, though a tit-for-tat trade war with China has continued. 'I have no issues with global trade whatsoever,' said Mr. Kelce, who was evenhanded about the impact of his small stab at making his goods solely in the United States. He was, he said, not going to stop buying shirts and clothes that were not totally made here. 'I don't think there's any type of statement trying to be made other than, 'Listen, there's some really awesome reasons to support homegrown American businesses and local businesses,'' he said. Considering Mr. Kelce's longstanding love affair with Philadelphia, it may strike some shoppers as odd that the Underdog line is not produced there. It was discussed, but the reality, said Mr. Winthrop, was that Philadelphia, like many cities that were once manufacturing hubs, was 'gutted out' when it came to apparel production. 'There is no at-scale dyeing or finishing or knitting capability in Philly,' he said. Mr. Kelce said that in the future, the company would find ways to incorporate the city into its brand. His partner, Stephen Porter, noted that anything Underdog screen printed or embroidered was done locally. The line might not be made in Philadelphia, but his green shirt proved that Mr. Kelce knew he had to keep his fans happy. 'Philadelphia bleeds green,' he said. 'If we didn't have a green shirt, it would have felt like malpractice.'
