Jason Kelce calls out Lions for ‘bulls---' contract demand to retired Pro Bowl center

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The Detroit Lions forced retired Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow to pay back some of his signing bonus, and Philadelphia Eagles great Jason Kelce is not happy about it.

The Lions have done this before with some of the best players in their franchise history, Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson, and it has created a rift in their relationship with the two Pro Football Hall of Famers. Kelce said he thinks it’s "bulls---" that the Lions are asking Ragnow to return money.

"While I get that the team has a right to ask for money back, in the spirit of the agreement, I think it’s bulls--- Frank is being asked to return money," Kelce posted to X.

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Jason Kelce before the game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots on "Monday Night Countdown" at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Eric Canha/Imagn Images)

"This was clearly a player that the game had physically taken its toll on, and his body was clearly no longer holding up to the rigors of the NFL. It wasn’t just some player deciding he didn’t want to play anymore, it wasn’t that simple, and these signing bonuses are there to protect players from the inevitable injuries they incur on the field."

Ragnow signed a four-year, $54 million contract extension in May 2021 that made him the highest-paid center in the NFL, with a $6 million signing bonus. The signing bonus from that contract counted $1.5 million each season against the salary cap from 2023–26.

Lions president Rod Wood confirmed that the team asked for a "portion" of Ragnow’s signing bonus.

"Our precedent goes all the way back to Barry Sanders,"