JASON AND TRAVIS KELCE

Venus and Serena.

Peyton and Eli.

Jim and John Harbaugh.

Marc and Pau Gasol.

Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

J.J., Derek and T.J. Watt.

LaMelo, LiAngelo and Lonzo Ball.

Stephen and Seth Curry.

Arthur, Chandler and Jon Jones.

Ok, you get it…

Siblings distinguished in professional sports.

Pretty rare, right?

Phil and Joe Niekro.

B.J. and Justin Upton.

Yadier, Jose and Bengie Molina.

Jason and Jeremy Giambi.

Vontae and Vernon Davis.

Desmond, Isaiah and Marcus Trufant.

The Bryan Twins (Mike and Bob).

The Klitschko Brothers (Wladimir and Vitali).

Ryan and Matt Kalil.

Kurt and Kyle Busch.

Kevin-Prince and Jerome Boateng.

Rare enough, but there’s more…

The Harrison Twins (Andrew and Aaron–University of Kentucky basketball).

The Lopez Twins (Brook and Robin).

The Pouncey Twins (Maurkice and Mike).

The Staal Brothers (Eric, Marc, Jordan and Jared).

Alistair and Jonny Brownlee.

The McCourty Twins (Devin and Jason).

Luke, Tyler and Cody Zeller.

Miles, Mason and Marshall Plumlee.

The Molinari Brothers (Edoardo and Francesco).

The Jerry Brothers (Peria and John).

Justine and Jordan Mowen.

Had enough?

Me too.

However, it would be near blasphemous to omit the names of Jason and Travis Kelce from this long laundry list.

The Kelce brothers, a year apart, dominate their respective positions in the NFL lattice.

Dominate, as in rule.

University of Cincinnati alums, their on-field responsibilities couldn’t be more different.

Jason is an All-Pro center and Travis is an All-World tight end.

The former is the highest paid center in the league.

The latter may end up as the greatest tight end ever in NFL annals.

Move over and step aside Tony Gonzalez.

Jason Witten.

Antonio Gates.

And yes, you Gronk.

Even you.

Travis Kelce is that great.

Drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and a member of the Super Bowl LIV champs (February 2, 2020), he is a 7-time-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first team All-Pro selection.

The younger Kelce brother holds the record for most consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards receiving by a tight end (6).

A newly-minted 33 years of age on October 5, he continues his climb–relentlessly–up each rung of the record book ladder.

A couple of weeks ago in a Sunday night victory over Tampa Bay, he leapfrogged former Pats and Tampa tight end Gronkowski for most receiving yards in a career by a tight end.

His 9,599 receiving yards courtesy of 751 receptions (12.7 yds. average), is good for fifth on the all-time ledger, trailing only Shannon Sharpe, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez.

Sharpe played in 188 games; Gates in 236; Witten in 271; and Gonzalez in 270.

Kelce has played in 134 games.

He is sixth in career receptions and sixth in career touchdowns.

With lots of gas in the tank (or electricity in the battery) he’s on pace–injury notwithstanding–to become the greatest tight end in NFL history.

He continues to raise the bar.

Thriving in the postseason like none other at his position, check out this tune:

In the playoffs, Kelce has averaged 15.1 catches; 184.4 receiving yards; and 1.7 touchdowns per game.

#1 in all three categories.

He is revolutionizing the position, plain and simple.

And I bet his older brother, Jason, can still kick his ass.

After all, that’s what older brothers do.

Especially when they’ve spent their football lives deep in the trenches.

Jason Kelce is as serious as a heart attack on the gridiron.

He too is a Super Bowl champion (LII) as well as a five-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time first team All-Pro.

Drafted in the sixth round (191st overall) by the Eagles in the 2011 Draft, he became the first rookie in franchise history–a rich one–to start all 16 games at center.

In 2020, Kelce started his 100th straight game with Philly.

The offensive line had experienced plenty of mixing and matching.

A record 14 different starting combinations.

Jason Kelce was the lone ranger, of course.

He–and only he–started every game.

These siblings belong right at the top of any list.

Genes?

Yup.

That one too.

Wish they’d spread ’em around.

[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in October 2022.]