March Madness is upon us, and the biggest upset of the tournament so far came on Sunday night as Iowa took down Florida, the defending champs.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle wasted no time razzing teammate Ricky Pearsall over the upset.
Kittle took to social media and shared an image from the movie Happy Gilmore when the boisterous hockey-player-turned-golfer jumps into a lake to attack an alligator. Kittle put the Iowa Hawkeyes logo over Gilmore and then tagged Pearsall as the gator.
#49ers George Kittle keeps trolling Ricky Pearsall on his IG story after Iowa upset Florida 💀 pic.twitter.com/YlpyW7bQzA
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) March 23, 2026
It’s typical behavior from Kittle and is in keeping with the bets his team has had over college sports over the years. A few years ago, Kittle lost a bet to former Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy and had to wear a Cyclones helmet during his press conference.
We’ll have to see if Pearsall sports any University of Iowa paraphernalia in the coming months as penance for any bets he made with Kittle.
Pearsall had to be feeling pretty good about his Gators since they were a No. 1 seed and won the title last season. They were going up against a No. 9 seed in Iowa, but they wouldn’t call it March Madness if there weren’t some wild upsets.
Pearsall played at Florida in his final two seasons of college and put up some strong numbers. He made that incredible one-handed grab that many 49ers fans gawked over when the team drafted him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Kittle played at Iowa from 2013 to 2016. He only had 737 receiving yards in those four seasons, most of them coming in his final two years of college. Sometimes, it's shocking when one remembers that Kittle was drafted in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, but those paltry college stats help explain why.
Needless to say, the Niners need both Pearsall and Kittle to be at their best next season. Both players dealt with a lot of injury issues a year ago, and Kittle may miss part of next season as he recovers from the Achilles tear he suffered in the playoffs.
The Niners have already added depth at wide receiver, and it wouldn't be a surprise if they did the same thing at tight end so they have some insurance for Kittle.
At least we know Kittle and Pearsall have a good relationship and can talk smack with each other in the offseason.
Let's hope it leads to good results on the field.