NFL veteran Mike Evans is experiencing the dawn of a new era, as he signed with the San Francisco 49ers last Thursday, and his new teammate, George Kittle, opened up about it. The signing marks the end of a 12-year run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he tied Jerry Rice’s NFL record of 11 straight seasons with 1,000 receiving yards (84.1 PFSN WR Impact in 2023).
What could’ve possibly convinced him to move to the Bay Area?
49ers TE George Kittle Sold Mike Evans on SF with How Players Are ‘Treated’
NFL players usually have access to many high-end team facilities. Franchises are known to invest heavily in their players to extract the maximum performance from them. As such, hospitality, medical, and training services are often world-class.
Therefore, it particularly stood out when Kittle convinced Evans to join the Niners primarily because of how players are treated.
“One of the biggest things I said [to Evans] is that the Niners organization put so much money back into the players, and how they take care of us, how we travel, how our facility is run,” Kittle said on “Bussin’ With The Boys.”
“One of the things that makes sense to me, if you’re playing in the NFL, you’re like, ‘I’m going to the NFL. They provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for you seven days a week.’ Well, not every team does that, which is insane to me.”
George Kittle on selling Mike Evans on joining the 49ers:
“One of the biggest things I said is that the Niners organization puts so much money back into the players with how they take care of us, how we travel, how our facility is ran. Jed does such a good job of putting money… pic.twitter.com/OZTBw8pBVp — Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) March 17, 2026
While players usually push very hard to get as much money as they possibly can when signing for a franchise, considering team facilities is also extremely important. A player positioning themselves in the healthiest environment possible could be the difference between a long and a short career in the pros.
Kittle highlighted things like the team’s “health days,” twice a week, during which the team pays for all sorts of treatments, from acupuncture to massages.
“There are teams that are, like, ‘The kitchen’s closed at noon on Thursday — you guys are on your own,'” Kittle added. “That doesn’t make any sense. Our kitchen is open all the time. We have a nutritionist who’s full-time. There are teams that have a part-time nutritionist. How does that make sense?… Our owner (Jed York) does everything he can to put money back into the team.”
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The tight end also mentioned that the starters have 30 laydown beds available when they travel, which stands out given that the squad is expected to travel more than 38,000 miles in 2026.
It’ll be interesting to see how long Evans’s career will continue, playing for a caring organization like the 49ers.
