Explore More
LAS VEGAS — It is unofficially “other season.’’
You must be familiar with the way it works leading into a Super Bowl. There is one dominant player at one position on one team and then there is the “other’’ less-heralded player, the counterpart playing the same position for the opposing team.
It happens every year. When the comparison can be made with the quarterbacks, all the better.
That is certainly applicable this year, when there is Patrick Mahomes with the Chiefs and Brock Purdy for the 49ers.
Purdy is the “other’’ quarterback in this game.
Heading down this road this year with the tight ends is risky business, even with Travis Kelce as the most intriguing and all-encompassing figure about to take the field Sunday in Super Bowl 2024, based on his out-of-this-world skills as a football player and his planetary fame as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.
What mere mortal tight end can match that fame?
Not George Kittle, who has been married to his wife, Claire, since 2019. They met as freshmen at the University of Iowa, quietly eloped and now live in Nashville, Tenn., in the offseason with a Bernedoodle puppy named Deenie.
Nothing really to see here with Kittle, but do not — repeat, do not — refer to him as the “other’’ tight end in this game.
Kelce would not dare utter those words.
“He’s the best tight end in the league and deservingly so this year,’’ Kelce said this week. “He’s been playing lights-out, playing the best football of his career, and really catapulted that San Francisco team through the playoffs, man, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Anyone hoping to stir up some bad blood between these two future Hall of Famers will be thwarted at every turn.
This is a two-man mutual admiration society. Kittle, 30, is four years younger than Kelce, 34, and they both are unafraid to show off their irreverent personalities and their zeal for competition on the field.
“Any time you’re compared to Travis Kelce, it’s a good thing,” Kittle said. “Travis is a guy who I watched since I was in college. When I ended up trading jerseys with him [after a game in 2018], I was kind of like, ‘This is one of the coolest games of my life.’ I’m a huge fan of Travis Kelce. The fact that I’ve become friends with him, peers with him, it’s been awesome. He’s someone I’ve looked up to. I’ve looked up to his game and watched so much of his film.”
Kelce, Kittle and former NFL tight end-turned broadcaster Greg Olsen created Tight End University, an immersive three-day program where players at that position come together in the offseason to share insight and anecdotes about their shared position.
This is not the first time Kelce and Kittle have squared off in a Super Bowl.
It first happened four years ago in Miami Gardens, Fla. Kelce had six receptions for 43 yards and one touchdown.
Kittle did not have a big performance, with four catches for 36 yards.
As the Chiefs were putting the finishing touches on a 31-20 victory, the often-rambunctious Kittle grew serious on the sideline, declaring, “I will be back here. I will be back here. I will be back with a vengeance. You will not get the best of me, no sir.”
Thanks in large part to Kittle, the 49ers are back here.
He led all NFL tight ends this season with 1,020 receiving yards.
Kelce, missing the season opener with a hyperextended knee and sitting out the season finale, was next with 984 yards, snapping his streak of seven consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards.
Kittle at this stage of his career is the more explosive player, averaging 15.7 yards per catch this season, compared with Kelce’s 10.6 yards. Kittle is the superior blocker. Mahomes needs Kelce more than Purdy needs Kittle, as the 49ers have a greater variety of weapons on offense.
While Kelce has fielded questions about Swift with grace and patience, Kittle thus far this week has handled everything with his usual spirit and aplomb.
He is a big fan of professional wrestling and teammates have speculated that his WWE moniker would be Ultimate Warrior, Psycho Capone, Captain Insane-o or The Undertaker.
“Yeah. He keeps it fun,” Purdy said. “Like, he just has a good perspective on playing the game of football. Obviously, you have to be so detailed in what you do and every little play and moment is huge. We all get that. But George sort of brings us back to, ‘Hey, we’re playing a game, we can have fun with this.’ ”
Everyone has something good to say about Kittle.
Especially Kelce.
“Anything that he says nice about you, it feels great,” Kittle said. “We both love football, and we’re both pretty good at what we do.’’
And neither of them is the “other’’ tight end in this game.
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3V7j2tmaW9fqL2wvtOsZm1xlafAbrPEqKmgnV2gtrXAy55kpqeimnq1tMCnZKismJq%2FbsDIoJ%2BtZZWjsW61zWaqrqiVp3qju9alZg%3D%3D