Jason Kelce was told to be ‘cautious’ about dropping F-bombs on his late night show

Jason Kelce may now be a late-night talk show host, but that doesn’t mean he has complete carte blanche when it comes to his language.

On Saturday January 4, the new show from the former NFL player They Call It Late Night With Jason Kelce debuted on ESPN. The first episode featured a slew of guests, including fellow late night host Jimmy Kimmel, Inside the NBA host Charles Barkley and musician Lil Dicky.

After the live taping of the episode on Friday, January 3, the former Philadelphia Eagles center, 37, answered questions from the press and revealed that ESPN gave him their blessing to push the limits of his language – but urged him to be “cautious” about dropping F-bombs during his show.

“I’m still waiting to see what the response is going to be, to be honest with you,” Kelce said of the first episode, which was heavy on salty language. “It’s a late-night show. We’ll see how it works the next morning when it airs.

While admitting he may have gone overboard with the swearing, Kelce told reporters he had a good reason for doing so. Ultimately, it’s about being your “authentic” self.

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“We really wanted the language to be real and authentic to me,” he explained. “We overdid it a little bit today, to prepare the audience for what to expect.”

“I think F-bombs are the only thing I’ve been told, you might want to be a little careful there,” Kelce continued. “But we want to give you the opportunity to be who you are, so we knew we were exploring territory where language would sort of be allowed.”

“I think it will probably naturally decrease significantly on the next show,” he added, referring to his language.

One day before They call him late at nightDuring the premiere, the former football player opened up to PEOPLE about what audiences can expect from the series. The goal, he says, is to mix sport and comedy.

“It’s a late-night comedy,” he explained. “We have a group of really funny writers who are going to make the show funny, because I sure can’t.”

The show, which airs Saturdays at 1 a.m. ET on ESPN, is filmed in front of a live audience in Philadelphia.

“We’re going to use great images and sound bites from the past and history of the game as well as the current weeks,” he added of the show’s football talk. “We will have panelists who will be able to give the perspectives of former players and coaches, fans and other high-profile athletes.”

Kelce also told PEOPLE that he wanted They call him late at night to be “a place where we can come once a week…have fun and talk about a sport that we all love and a culture that is near and dear to us.”

He added: “So, I think I’m really, really looking forward to it.”