Jason Kelce Says It's 'Bulls---' Former Lions Lineman Frank Ragnow Has to Return His Signing Bonus After Retiring
The retired NFL star is standing up for Ragnow, after the Lions asked for him to return part of his signing bonus
Jason Kelce, Frank Ragnow Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic NEED TO KNOW Jason Kelce is defending a retired NFL player On X, Kelce said Frank Ragnow should not have to return part of his signing bonus that he received in his contract with the Detroit Lions Ragnow, 29, retired from the league in June 2025 Jason Kelce is going to bat for Frank Ragnow. On Tuesday, March 31, the Monday Night Countdown analyst weighed in on the news that the former Detroit Lions center will have to give back part of his signing bonus in the wake of his retirement from the NFL at age 29. In a lengthy explanation on X , Kelce pushed back on the Lions’ longheld policy.
“This is interesting,” Kelce, 38, began in his defense of Ragnow. “It feels like it’s obvious that Frank retired because he was physically fighting through injuries and pain, and it got to a point that he no longer could play the game in an enjoyable, effective, or healthy way. The whole purpose of a signing bonus is to be a guarantee up front that insures a salary irregardless of performance metrics, or most importantly injuries that could compromise your career in the future.
” Kelce continued, “What makes this interesting is that Frank likely retired ‘voluntarily,’ meaning, he wasn’t declared medically unfit to play by a doctor, which allows the team to ask for a prorated amount of his signing bonus back. Had he been medically deemed unfit to play football by a doctor before he retired, the team wouldn’t be able to recoup part of the signing bonus. ” Frank Ragnow Credit: Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Ragnow was selected by the Lions in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and signed a $54 million extension for four years in 2021, including a $6 million signing bonus on the deal, according to MLive .
In June 2025, he announced that he would be retiring from the league in part to "prioritize" health and his "family's future. " The Minnesota native battled multiple injuries over his years with the team, and it is Kelce’s take that his signing bonus should have been untouched. “So 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 said in part.