What is Tight End U? Taylor Swift makes special appearance at event

USA Today

6 hours ago

Taylor Swift is embracing her football era.
Already in a relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Swift is even getting involved in the NFL's offseason activities. The fifth-annual Tight End University kicked off on June 23 in Nashville and will wrap up on June 26.
While the focus is typically on the field, the attention was on the stage for the Tight Ends and Friends benefit concert on Tuesday, June 24. The founders of the event, Kelce, George Kittle and Greg Olsen teased a few surprise guests would perform at the concert when tickets went on sale. On Tuesday night, Swift ended up being one of them.
Tickets sold out when Swift was seen arriving alongside Kelce on Monday, June 23.
All ticket sales go to charities, according to The Tennessean (part of the USA TODAY Network). The charities include Kelce's nonprofit 87 and Running, which helps disadvantaged youths; The Heartest Yard, which helps kids with congenital heart disease, and a charity of Kittle's choosing.
Six months after concluding her Eras Tour, Swift emerged from the shadows at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville after being introduced by fellow surprise guest, Kane Brown. She ended up performing her hit "Shake It Off," dedicating the performance to, "our favorite players who are going to play, the tight ends."
While Swift and friends were the main event on Tuesday night, there is still work to be done for the tight ends in attendance. Here's what to know about the football portion of the program.
What is Tight End University?
Tight End University was founded in 2021 by Kelce, Kittle and Olsen as a way to bring the position's community together and to improve their play on the field.
The three-day program offers players a chance to do on-field work, study film and hold discussions about various topics to perfect their craft. In addition to the benefits for NFL tight ends, there is also a charitable component to the summit, which is achieved through their sponsors and benefit concert.
Ultimately, Kittle hopes that the event helps get other players paid.
"The only way for the tight end market to continue to grow is if everybody's getting paid," Kittle said on "The Dan Patrick Show" on June 16. "That's the only way to do it. You can't just have one guy do it and then it just sits for three or four years because then you're stuck and it's stagnant and no one's getting paid."
He pointed out that the top tight ends were getting paid around $15 million when the event first started, but that number is now around $20 million.
It's not just about the money, however. They are focused on skills related to the game, but also the things that happen off the field, like financial advising and investing.
"We try to talk about all the things a tight end does because we're the only position that gets to do everything: Pass pro, run blocking, catching the football, scoring touchdowns, running the ball sometimes, so we kind of try to cover as much as we can in the limited time we have with these guys and just try to give them a step forward in their careers to help them make a team in the upcoming camp," Kittle said.
Getting enrolled in Tight End University isn't a difficult process, as Kittle said as long as he has an email address or can get a hold of them, all active players are invited.
Typically 80 to 90 players attend the event in the Music City each year. Given the star-studded concert that took place and the professional advantage it has for NFL tight ends, perhaps that number will rise in the future.
Or may other position groups will try to capture some of that magic.
USA TODAY's Bryan West contributed to this report.