George Kittle Can’t Figure Out Why So Many Wives Will Be at Tight End U This Year

George Kittle has run Tight End University for six years, and he noticed something strange about this year's sign-up sheet. The wives showed up early.

First, the upgrades. What started as a sleepy event Kittle, Greg Olsen, and Travis Kelce cooked up has grown into a full production. This year, Vanderbilt is letting them use its actual stadium, the renovated press box becomes the classroom, and the doors open to the public. Will and Taylor Lewan of Bussin' With The Boys will roam with microphones interviewing attendees. That night there's a country concert with ten artists Kittle couldn't name because of tour restrictions, in a venue he's tripled in size to hold more than 3,000 people. He was cold-calling everybody to book it.

When Rich asked whether any tight end has a significant other big in the music industry, Kittle pivoted to a better answer: the main act is Greg Olsen. The plan, delivered with a straight face, is to let Olsen call a football game for five minutes and sing Mr. Brightside for the other five. Kittle genuinely admires Olsen, the reigning Emmy winner, for breaking games down so anyone can follow regardless of their football knowledge, calling it a special talent.

Then came the mystery. In past years, Kittle sends the sign-up sheet to tight ends in mid-April, and in most of the five or six years, somewhere between seven and twelve guys commit before June 1. That leaves him 20 days to herd 60 to 80 cats. This year was different. Thirty players signed up in the first two days, and 29 of the 30 were bringing their significant other. By June 1 he was over 80.

Kittle's working theory is Taylor Swift. He brought up her surprise song at last year's event and wonders whether girlfriends and wives are now so excited to attend that they're pushing their husbands to sign up early. Whatever the cause, he expects the best attendance the event has ever had. Rich tested his Swiftie credentials by sneaking lyrics from "The Fate of Ophelia" into a question about whether attendees would arrive by land, sea, or sky. Kittle missed the reference at first, prompting Rich to threaten to revoke his Swiftie card, before Kittle recovered with a "baby, just say yes."

The runaway popularity ties into National Tight Ends Day, which Kittle helped birth and which has become a scoring bonanza. He told a story from an airport bar, where he's taken to having one beer at every airport for fun, including a 6:15 a.m. beer in Nashville he called glorious. A stranger approached, showed him a bet slip, and explained that Kittle helped him win something like $30,000 or $50,000 two years ago on a six-leg touchdown parlay. Three of the six tight ends had one catch for one touchdown, and Kittle, playing on Sunday Night Football, was the last to score, hitting the end zone in the third quarter. The man offered to buy him a beer. "I'll take 10 percent, but yeah, sure," Kittle said.

People love betting on tight ends, he noted, before quickly adding that he never would and isn't allowed to. Tight End University runs June 22nd through the 25th, with tickets and workout info at te-university.com.