What is National Tight Ends Day?: Know everything about the NFL holiday and how it began

It is the National Tight Ends Day on Sunday, October 25. The holiday has become a tradition for all football fans. As the name suggests, the day celebrates the unsung tight ends in the league. The celebration is held annually on the fourth Sunday of October.

Even though there are no formal traditions, the NFL uses the day to celebrate the players who play on the tight end position across the league each year. The tight end is an offensive position and requires the players to take on the responsibilities of both an offensive lineman and a receiver.

How did the National Tight End Day come to be celebrated?

The holiday became widely known after the 49ers beat the Lions in Week 2 of the 2018 season. The 49ers did so with the help of two tight ends Garrett Celek and Kittle. Former 49ers tight end Garrett Celek caught an 11-year touchdown from Jimmy Garoppolo, where the tight end dragged two defenders along with him to score. Garoppolo joined the offense to congratulate his teammates on the touch down.


Kittle later said, “Jimmy G was like, ‘What is it, National Tight Ends Day?’ We’re like ‘Yeah, it’s a holiday man’” and that was how the holiday came to be. Kittle later said, “In my opinion, everyday is National Tight Ends Day”. The celebrations started in the 49ers locker room. The tradition was later observed by the NFL team and they put together a plan to make it a new holiday.

Kittle, who was present during the conversation, has become one of the strongest proponents of the day. He uses his platform to highlight the tight ends, which has resulted in the annual Tight End University, where the players in the positions gather for a three-day summit.

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Celebrations began in 2019

In 2019, in Week 8 of the regular season the National Tight Ends Day was celebrated for the very first time. The day was across the NFL ecosystem, including social media, broadcast to the players and teams.

The NFL highlights tight ends across the league on the day. Players playing in the position are mic’d up for their game to let fans hear what a tight end goes through the course of a game. Last year in 2025, Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce was mic’d up during his game.

According to Elijah Higgins, the tight end for the Arizona Cardinals, “Having Tight Ends Day, we can go out on the field and just play with a little extra swag and a little extra juice. We can go out there and have a little extra fun. To me, that is what it is really about.”

The NFL converted a simple comment into a league-wide initiative and puts tight ends at the fore-front every year. The position has seen several greats including Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez.