George Kittle found his lifelong teammate in his wife, Claire Kittle. The couple met when they were 18 at the University of Iowa, years before the football player was drafted to the NFL. Since that life-changing night in 2017, the pair have grown together, building a life beyond the end zone.
For Claire, "team is everything in life," and she and George "have a very good partnership and team going here," she tells HELLO!. "We've grown up together, and it just feels really natural, and we're very fortunate to have that relationship."
Claire, along with George's father and agent, has been a part of the tight end's tight circle since early on – a group that not only keeps the San Francisco 49ers player confident and helps with decision-making, but also keeps the athlete humble and his ego in check. "Everybody thinks you're amazing," George said, reflecting on being drafted. "But the reality is, you haven't made the team yet.”
So to have a tight circle, he adds: "Keeps you humble and very focused, everybody really needs one of those. I'm not a huge ego guy, but Claire knows when to knock me out the knees once in a while and she does a good job at that."
© Courtesy of US BankOver the years, George and Claire have "gotten so much better at communicating," which he says everything falls back on. In fact, the football player can't remember the last time he and his wife weren't on the same page.
"Just having someone who I know is 100 percent on the same page as me at all times, like it makes me feel like I'm not alone," he says. "Because you can be in a relationship, but if you like aren't talking about stuff you could feel alone on some topics. And me and Claire, we talk about everything."
"I tell her about my video games, even though she doesn't want to hear them. I tell her about my golf game, which she doesn't really need to hear, but she listens, and then she supports me in those avenues," George continues.
He and Claire also work well together. Off the field, the couple, who eloped in 2019, host the podcast The Kittle Things and appeared in Netflix's 2024 docuseries Receiver.
"Being able to do that stuff it kind of gave us more ways to grow together. Because we're on camera together, which was a first," George says. "We're the same people on camera as we are off of it, and that was just kind of fun for us to be able to show people that. It's not an act like I'm a little bit goofy, and she keeps me in line, but also encourages it. So it's pretty fun."
Claire notes that that they're able to pursue those opportunities because they are "so comfortable with each other" and "want to do work together." She points out, "It's not every day that you get to work with your spouse, and it's just been fun. We've just been able to like take in the opportunities and say yes to those. And I think that that's been important."
© Courtesy of US BankKnowing the NFL won't last forever, George and Claire are thinking about what they hope to build together outside of football. Claire hopes people remember how kind and fun she and her husband are. "And I hope the 49er fan base knows how much we care about them and are so appreciative to even be there for 10 years, hopefully longer, which at this point we are, so that's good," she says.
Meanwhile, George wants to make the most of the window he has. "Really, just for me and Claire, whenever I'm done playing, I just want us to be set up and be able to do whatever we want to do after football," he reveals, before sharing a lesson he once received from a college coach.
Remembering the coach drawing a line on a whiteboard, George recalls: "He was like, 'This is your life. Let's call it 90 to 100 years.' He goes like, 'This window right here, which is four to five years of college, this is your window of opportunity. And if you get lucky, you know, the NFL is usually two and a half years, or if you play longer, let's just say 10 to 12 years total, and you have the rest of your life. Like, what are you going to do in this little window that's going to set you up for the rest of your life? And then what are you going to do with the rest of your life?' I was like, 'Oh, wow, it is not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things.' And so just take advantage of those weeks, months, years that you do get."
George, a fifth-round pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, and his wife have been longtime members of the U.S. Bank family. The first day of the 2026 NFL Draft, U.S. Bank – the new official bank and wealth management sponsor of the NFL – introduced a program for NFL players called U.S. Bank Financial Edge, designed to support players at every stage of their financial journey.
During an intimate conversation with Scott Ford, U.S. Bank's head of wealth management, George admitted: "Football is already incredibly demanding –physically and mentally. If you can eliminate off-field stress, it makes everything easier. If you’re dealing with financial stress, family issues, or distractions, you can’t give 100% to the game – and this sport will expose that quickly. So if you can make your off-field life stable and stress-free, you can focus, recover, and perform at your best. It makes a huge difference."
