Running Around New Orleans With Jason Kelce and Two Dozen Dudes Who Look Just Like Him

It’s a Tuesday in the French Quarter—arguably the most debaucherous 13 blocks in America— but instead of beaded tourists clutching three-foot drinks or slurping oysters, the streets are filled with bearded, heavyset men. A scavenger hunt of sorts is underway, with five teams of two scouring the area for Jason Kelce lookalikes. The former Philadelphia Eagles center (now one of the most in-demand figures not just in sports media, but media in general), is the final boss, and he’s got a sense of humor about this deeply bizarre spectacle unfolding on Bourbon Street.

“Anyone white, kind of overweight, bearded, same haircut—they’re going to look pretty spot on,” Kelce says, noting that he was compared to the plump actor Zack Galifianakis throughout his 13-year NFL career. “Nothing is more humbling than realizing you’re not unique whatsoever.”

A little background: thousands of people applied to be part of a contest staged by Marriott to win Super Bowl tickets. When the field was whittled down to the final five teams after an extensive interview process, the finalists flew in from all over the country to hunt down the 26 Kelce doppelgangers who are now scattered throughout the neighborhood, each wearing custom Courtyard Marriott letterman jackets with Kelce’s number 62 on the back and holding miniature footballs that the contestants are trying to collect. Jasons are lurking down brick alleyways, in the city’s many pedestrian malls, and posted up underneath the ornate balconies that give the French Quarter its distinct flair.

Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Courtyard By Marriott

As I join the teams searching high and low for the Jasons, it becomes clear to me just how phenomenal the casting was. The Jasons not only bear a physical resemblance to Kelce, they also act like him, nailing the “nicest bro you’ve ever met” vibe. One of the lookalikes, a bemused guy named David, gives me a green and silver Mardi Gras necklace with the Eagles logo dangling from it. When a contestant stumbles upon him, they chest bump, and David nearly knocks him into a nearby lightpost. Some Jasons are actors that responded to a casting call, others are school principals or work in petroleum. There’s a blonde Jason and a notably short Jason, but they share one key thing: “They all have personalities!” one contestant says gleefully as they whiz past me.

After about an hour, there’s a brief intermission in Jackson Square during which the results so far are tallied. Many of the Jasons play an impromptu game of football in front of St. Louis Cathedral. The team that found the most footballs is awarded a 45-second headstart for the final activity, hunting the one lookalike that possesses the golden football. The winners will get some quality time with the real Jason, tickets to the game, and Saturday night in a luxury suite at the stadium, which Marriott has turned into a hotel room.

If you’re thinking this sounds like a fantasy, well, you’re not alone. “When [my wife] told me about it I was like, ‘I know that’s a scam,’” says Donnavan Bryant. “Don’t give them no credit card, no socials.” Bryant and his wife, Maris, a couple from Dallas, emerged victorious. Less than ten minutes into the contest’s final portion, they found Derek, an HIV doctor from San Francisco who’s the keeper of the golden football. He’s also the one lookalike that’s truly a dead ringer, so much so that when passersby see him, they swear it’s the real Kelce. “You a center!” screams one man, correctly identifying Kelce’s position but not the actual man he’s yelling at. The owner of a beignet shop throws out a simple “Kelce!” An older couple waddles past and I hear the husband tell his wife he’s the “other one” (not Travis, presumably). The whole thing is a riot, but like any great sports-adjacent story, there’s also an emotional layer to it. Maris and Donnavan are not only massive Eagles fans, she’s also eight months pregnant. “She’s pregnant with a little baby Eagle!” exclaims Derek. “You can’t make this shit up!”