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What started as just an idea has turned into one of the NFL offseason’s most prestigious events.
Tight End University enters year six next week, and it’s shaping up to be the biggest yet — even though Travis Kelce’s fiancee, Taylor Swift, made a surprise appearance last year.
The annual event went from just a text from George Kittle to Greg Olsen about working out with some other tight ends in Nashville in 2021 to bringing in fans for the first time this year at Vanderbilt University.
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Broadcaster Greg Olsen watches before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington on September 7, 2025. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Now, nearly every team’s primary tight end is making the trip to the event, which will be open to fans for the first time this year.
“Here we are now with about 90 guys from around the league, big sponsors and the opportunity to open it up to the public for the first time at Vanderbilt. It’s a really cool mix of football, camaraderie, guys spending time with each other and picking each other’s brains on the field and in the classroom,” Olsen, one of TEU’s Digital News, recently told Fox’s Digital News. “It’s a really good mix of all those things, and we hope that every year we find ways to make it better and better.”
No other position in football or any sport has anything like it. Of course, players can be friendly and train with each other.
But this is a play, and that’s because of the position itself.
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen runs during the second half of an NFL game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans.
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“There’s something about that position where the roots are more blue-collar and grind-it-out. It’s only in the last handful of years that it’s become more of a glamorous superstar position,” Olsen said.
“When I first came into the league, it was a little different. So I think it’s the right type of guys to pull together, work hard and work out and be willing to run around when it’s 100 degrees in Nashville in June, a month before training camp.”
Participants are able to bond, collaborate with, and learn among their peers while participating in a variety of activities including film studies, on-site exercises, recovery, rehabilitation, and more. In addition to current players, TEU also features several retired legends, giving attendees the invaluable opportunity to learn from some of the greatest to ever play the game.
“Whether you’re a Kelce or Kittle, a perennial All-Pro trying to extend your career and continue your success, or an undrafted rookie who’s never stepped foot in the NFL and whose first goal is just to make the practice squad, there’s always another level to reach,” Olsen added. “Maybe you’re on a practice squad and now it’s time to make a 53-man roster. That’s what we’re trying to encourage — can you take one thing from this week, bring it back to training camp, bring it back to your team and take your career one step further?
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen scores a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sept. 22, 2019. (Nils Nilsen/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
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“We’re not trying to turn everybody into Travis Kelce, George Kittle or Rob Gronkowski, but there are levels in every part of this game. If we can help guys take that next step, I think that’s a success. Then there’s the fun element. Can we give these guys and their families — their girlfriends, wives, kids, whoever they bring with them over the course of three days — a fun thing if they ended up three days? we can accomplish those two things, on and off the field, that is a great week.”
