Greg Olsen Says Travis Kelce and George Kittle ‘Understand Their Priorities’ as NFL Stars (Exclusive)

Retired NFL tight end Greg Olsen just finished playing with George Kittle and Travis Kelce in Nashville, and is a big fan of the NFL stars.

The former tight end, 39, tells PEOPLE exclusively that this year’s event was the best yet, and his co-hosts Kelce, 34, and Kittle, 30, didn’t let their growing fame get in the way of their priorities on the field.

“It went really well and it’s kind of funny now in year four to see the growth and how far the event has come, considering the first year, in 2021, we did it at a local high school and we had maybe 30 guys,” Olsen says. “It was it’s really just a camp, and then we’d go out to the bar at night and that was mostly the scale.”

This year, the three-day event was sponsored by Charmin, Bridgestone and Bud Light, and the trio hosted their first Tight Ends & Friends concert, where attendees and fans enjoyed a performance by Jelly Roll.

Travis Kelce at the Tight Ends & Friends concert in Nashville.

Carly Mackler/Getty

Olsen started the annual tight ends retreat with Kelce and Kittle before both current NFL stars maintained their current level of celebrity status, especially Kelce now that he’s dating Taylor Swift.

“All those other things off the field and around the game continued to expand for them,” Olsen says of the tight ends. “And I think a lot of guys struggle with that.”

“I think the two of them understand their priorities and keep things in that order, and I think it’s key for those two to have this success year after year, which is just a testament to their approach to how they do things,” Olsen says.

Travis Kelce hangs out with George Kittle and Greg Olsen as starting tight end University of Nashville

“At the core of who they are, they’re football players,” Olsen continued of Kelce and Kittle. “All that extra stuff and all the attention, it comes and goes, and I’m sure parts of it are amazing and have great benefits, and I’m sure parts of it are hard. Obviously, I don’t live in those shoes, but when it’s time to work, nobody he wasn’t more engaged in classroom work and field work than George and Travis.”

Even with the addition of brand sponsors, a concert event and opportunities for fan involvement, Olsen says Kelce and Kittle haven’t let the original intent of the program lose focus.

Ultimately, Tight End University is a three-day program that began as an idea from a “random text message” between Kittle and Olsen.

“It’s funny, George and I were texting in 2021 after I retired, and he just threw in, ‘Hey, if you ever come to Nashville, there’s five or six tight people down here. We’d love to practice and do a little session .’ And to go from that sort of random text message just back and forth after I retired to see where it grew in four years, and then, of course, to include Travis from the beginning, it’s remarkable,” he shares.

From left: Travis Kelce; Greg Olsen; and George Kittle.

Ezra Shaw/Getty; Moses Robinson/Getty; Jason Kempin/Getty

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“I think it’s great for these young guys,” Olsen explains of the program’s unique opportunity for football’s brightest up-and-comers at their position.

“They have two of the best guys who just played in the Super Bowl. They played against each other a few years ago. They’re perennial Pro Bowlers. You can go up and down the list of personal accolades. And here we are on a random Tuesday in the summer when they could be anywhere in the world and they are at the front of the line training on a field at one hundred degrees.”

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Olsen says Kelce and Kittle’s willingness to not only work hard for their own success, but also to offer their time and support to future tight ends is a “reminder” to program participants “that success is always hard work that everyone can see.”

Travis Kelce attends the Super Bowl LVIII pregame at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kevin Mazur/Getty

And as the Kelce and Swift fan bases continue to merge, Olsen says it’s “probably to be expected” that some fans brought Chiefs star Swift-themed merchandise, like a rubber ducky, to the event.

“Obviously Travis is super generous with his time and everything, and I think that’s great. There’s a whole new fan base. I mean, I have an 11-year-old daughter, so I get that firsthand,” Olsen says of Kelce’s new fans. . “I think it’s great for everybody. I think it’s great for the game and the league and yeah, I think there were a lot of fans excited to see the guys.”

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What’s more, the University Tight End benefits the Nashville community, where Kittle and his wife, Claire, live in the off-season. “Nashville means a lot to them,” Olsen says.

“I think the big element that we’re really proud of is that last year we gave about $600,000 to local Nashville Youth charities, and this year it could be over $800,000,” Olsen says. “So I think the impact of the event, beyond just football on the local community, for us to be able to bring that event to Nashville and make that kind of mark and leave hundreds of thousands of dollars to local youth charities in the area, I think is also significant. ”

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Source: HIS Education