George Kittle has always kept it real on and off the field in his eight NFL seasons.
He might need his wife to be equally blunt with him in order to determine when that career should conclude.
Kittle made an appearance on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast ahead of this week's Tight End University and candidly answered the question most athletes avoid contemplating as much as possible: How long will you continue playing?
"Literally until I don't have fun anymore," Kittle, 31, said. "Or if [his wife] Claire looks at me and goes, 'You kinda look like s--t out there, you should retire.' I'll be like, 'All right.'
"I don't know, I think if I get to 35 and it hurts to put pants on in the morning, I think I'll be like, 'Ah, this isn't that much fun anymore,' and I'll have a conversation with myself. But I'm feeling great right now."
If Kittle feels as well as he's playing, he might take it well past 35 at this rate. With consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and 14 receiving touchdowns combined over his last two campaigns, he's showed no signs of slowing down.
The timing of 35 is interesting, though, because Kittle recently signed a four-year extension worth $76.4 million that will keep him with San Francisco through 2029 -- his age 36 season. He turns 32 in October and is enjoying a rare offseason in which he actually feels good physically, which is undoubtedly encouraging.
"The one benefit of not making the playoffs is you get an entire month off," Kittle explained. "I haven't had January off since 2020.
"Mentally and physically, I'm lightyears ahead of where I was the last two years, which is pretty fun."
With 538 receptions, 7,380 receiving yards and 45 touchdowns piled up in his eight-year career -- plus six Pro Bowls, two All-Pro nods and two NFC titles in hand -- Kittle has plenty of reason to feel satisfied with what he's accomplished. It isn't a conversation he's interested in having now, though -- not until his wife and/or his body tell him it's time to hang it up.
