SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- It's early June and the San Francisco 49ers have just put the finishing touches on their offseason program by breaking a team huddle, dividing into position groups and then heading off into their summer down time.
As most players head into the locker room, tight end George Kittle is getting started on the Jugs machine. At 31 years old, Kittle's participation in organized team activities is largely limited to individual drills.
He doesn't plan to leave any opportunity to hone his craft on the table. Whether it's catching passes post-practice, hosting an annual get-together for his fellow tight ends or his meticulous pre-practice routine, Kittle remains focused on being the NFL's standard-bearer at his position.
"I had a dream of playing NFL football when I was a kid," Kittle told ESPN. "I just love the game so much and I've been blessed enough to have this opportunity and I feel like it's up to me to decide whether the window's closed or my time is coming to an end ... I'm literally living my dream, so why would I not want to be the best version of myself that I can be?"
As Kittle rolls toward his ninth NFL season, he's still in the prime of his career.
In 2024, Kittle finished with 1,106 yards (second most in career) and eight touchdowns (second) on 78 receptions (third). In terms of efficiency, Kittle's production was as good or better than every tight end in the league.
Among tight ends, Kittle's 11.6 yards per target, 73.7 yards per game, 2.9 yards per route run and 14.9 yards per reception ranked first in the league. He also ranked second in yards after catch per reception (6.6) and touchdowns while allowing zero sacks in 113 pass block snaps over the past two seasons.
All of that allowed Kittle to reclaim his title as the league's highest-paid tight end by signing a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension in April that could allow him to finish his career with the only NFL team he's ever known.
Kittle said the negotiations included a little bit of drama. He declined to elaborate on it but acknowledged it would be "fair to say" there was at least a minor disagreement on his value.
Despite the hiccup, Kittle is happy that he's under contract through the 2029 season.
"It's somewhere that I want to be for as long as I possibly can be because I go to work every single morning and I look up and I'm walking into Levi's Stadium as my office," Kittle said. "I am just so beyond lucky and I am so happy to be able to be here for longer."
According to Kittle, his secret to fending off Father Time and extending his career is striking the right balance between taking care of his body and strengthening his mind -- all the while approaching every day like an undrafted rookie trying to win a roster spot.
"I've always hung my hat on the fact that I know that if I'm playing at my best that there's no one that is going to take my job and that I'm going to continue to play at a really high level," Kittle said.
"There are 10,000 kids who would love to be the starting tight end for the San Francisco 49ers. And it is my job to not let any of their dreams come true ... That is one thing that keeps me going and one thing that just makes me want to play for as long as I possibly can."
George Kittle joins "The Pat McAfee Show" and talks about head coach Kyle Shanahan's open-door policy with players.
WHEN KITTLE ARRIVED in San Francisco as a rookie in 2017, he was a fifth-round pick who the Niners believed could eventually contribute if he was able to add some weight and prove he could handle the rigors of an NFL season.
It didn't take long for him to figure it out. He quickly attached himself to the hip of veteran tight end Garrett Celek and left tackle Joe Staley, both of whom showed Kittle how he'd need to take care of his body if he wanted to have a long and successful career.
As Kittle has aged, he has honed in on his training and recovery regiment. While he is open to trying new things to stay healthy, he has three non-negotiables: deep tissue massages, acupuncture treatments and offseason stem cell therapy.
During the season, Kittle has two massages a week and sees his acupuncturist three or four times a week, depending on if that week's game is home or away. And it's an offseason tradition to travel to Panama City for stem cell therapy -- a medical treatment that uses stem cells to repair or replace damaged cells or tissues in the body -- at the Stem Cell Institute.
As for his diet, Kittle says he eats "as much protein and carbs as I can possibly get in my body" while consuming four or five meals a day. Kittle's dedication to every aspect of his job is not lost on his teammates, many of whom view Kittle as a prime example of how to be a pro.
"Everyone sees Kittle and he's funny, he's got the great personality, and that's really who he is," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "But I think that's who he is because he's confident in his work, his preparation. George has earned the right to be who he is but he's one of the hardest workers that I know on our team."
In the locker room, it's not uncommon to walk past the row of lockers that includes Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey and hear that duo kicking around new workout and body care ideas that they have tried or are interested in integrating into their own routines.
For Kittle, it's not just about being in the best shape of his life. Instead, he's seeking a specific feeling in his body that allows him to practice and play in games without issue.
Of course, all the preparation in the world can't prevent the injuries inherent with playing football. Kittle has been no stranger to the bruises that come with the game, including missing two contests with hamstring issues in 2024.
Still, while Kittle has appeared on the injury report 13 times over the past three seasons, he's only missed four games for injury-related reasons in that span.
"He's a warrior," defensive end Nick Bosa said. "There's a lot of guys in this league who wouldn't play through the things he plays through every year."
WHILE KITTLE'S EFFORTS to fine-tune his body have been a constant from early in his career, he points to a deeper understanding of the nuances of football as the driving force behind his continued success after turning 30.
One thing benefiting Kittle that many players can't claim is unrivaled stability in an offensive scheme. Kittle played all four years of his college career for Kirk Ferentz at Iowa and Kyle Shanahan's offense is the only one he's played in during his NFL career.
As a rookie in 2017, Kittle marveled at how Shanahan could spend 45-plus minutes breaking down a single play from the perspective of all 22 players on the field. Entering his ninth season, Kittle is not only fluent in Shanahan's offense but has reached a point where he can explain things in similar fashion.
"When we call and install certain plays, I don't have to ask why we're doing those things," Kittle said. "I'm just like, 'Oh, that makes sense because [we're] going to do this, we're targeting this, their weak link is player X, so we're going to target that ... Not having to ask why, why, why all the time and then being able to ask questions that kind of break down the plays more."
Kittle's depth of knowledge in the scheme has been beneficial in helping him mentor younger players in the offense but it's also left him asking deeper, more detailed questions that can't always be covered in the regular tight end meetings.
It's why Kittle and tight ends coach Brian Fleury regularly meet during the season to talk about granular details that might not be visible to casual observers. The meetings are a doctorate- level discussion that goes well beyond the basics of Shanahan's offense.
In a given game week, Kittle and Fleury work through a check list on every play, starting with defensive formations, identifying what coverage goes with which alignment and then formulating a plan for how to run a certain route against that particular look. The same is true for Kittle's blocking assignments as the pair will pick up on tells the defense might have.
By way of example, Kittle offers a scenario in which he is chipping a defensive end in pass protection. The play gives Kittle a specific assignment but his sessions with Fleury allow them to discuss what technique might best help him handle his assignment.
At practice, Kittle will take many of those ideas he and Fleury have concocted and see if he is even capable of implementing them. It involves a lot of trial and error and Kittle says there's been "plenty of things" that he's tried that didn't work and resulted in Shanahan and/or Fleury telling him to never try them again.
Some of those minor tweaks do work, though. It's why Kittle is almost never in the same spot when he shifts on third down and he plays an integral role in creating confusion for defenses that might otherwise have a bead on a given play based on the formation. It all starts in those brainstorming sessions with Fleury.
"He's just at a completely different level in terms of his experience within the same offense and the reps and the volume he's being asked to carry and just the plays that we're trying to scheme up for him," Fleury said.
"... He's earned the right to have an opinion at this point in his career."
Brock Bowers joins "SportsCenter" to discuss Tight End University and what he has gained so far attending this event.
Kittle is in line to become the first Niner to land on the team's 10-year wall since Staley did it in 2017. He's also well-positioned to keep climbing the list of the most accomplished tight ends in league history.
Last season, Kittle set a franchise record for receiving yards by a tight end (7,380), which puts him behind Travis Kelce for the second-most receiving yards by a tight end through his first eight NFL seasons. He also became the fifth tight end ever to have four 1,000-plus yard receiving seasons, joining Kelce (seven), Rob Gronkowski, Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten (four each) in that club.
A few more seasons at or near his current pace would almost surely put Kittle in line for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, though he insists he will wait to reflect on what he's accomplished when he's finished playing.
For now, Kittle's focus is on maintaining his body and finding peace in the simple victories that come from his study sessions with Fleury.
"I know everyone thinks that there's a certain age you'll hit and you'll start declining," Purdy said. "But George hasn't shown any signs of that. I feel like sometimes the guys that they're not always just the fastest or strongest but they're also extremely good at understanding the game and seeing the game. Those are guys that play the longest and George is one of those guys."