The San Francisco 49ers star, 32, spoke with PEOPLE alongside his wife Claire at the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 23 about his post-football plans, and how they work with his new partnership with U.S. Bank.

George, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft and enters his 10th season in the league this fall, discussed how he and his college sweetheart, 31, are starting to plan for their next chapter when his tight end days come to an end.

“At this point in my career, I’ve been very fortunate to play for 10 years,” George tells PEOPLE in Pittsburgh, where U.S. Bank kicked off its partnership with the NFL.

“And when you start in the league, your only goal is like, ‘I want to make a team, so I can play in the NFL,’ ” he continued. “And then once you’ve made a team now it’s like, ‘I want to establish myself as a good player. I want to make a second contract.’ “

“And then it’s like once you’ve made that second contract, it’s, ‘How much longer can I play? Can I get another contract?’ ” explained George, who acknowledged the realities of the “third trimester” of an NFL career.

His thought: “I’m definitely not a rookie anymore. There is a finish line at some point. I’m not going to play forever.” And it’s like, ‘Okay, well, how can I set myself up financially and have a plan as to where, when I’m done playing, if I don’t want to, I don’t have to work again.’ “

And he made it clear: “That’s the goal.”

The 49ers tight end — who recently celebrated his seventh wedding anniversary with Claire — opened up about their future plans to start a family together, and financially setting themselves up for that stage of life.

“When we have kids, and I want to be a stay-at-home dad, and that’s what I want to be able to do every day,” George told PEOPLE, sharing, “I don’t want to go have to get another job.”

“And because I’ve been so fortunate to play in the NFL for 10 years, that’s kind of the plan that we’ve had set,” he said, adding, “And so, if I can do that, that’d be a dream come true.”

Claire said that working with U.S. Bank is the financial decision they’re most proud of to date, crediting the organization for guiding them through the complexities that come with contracts and other money matters in a pro athlete family.

“It’s very beneficial,” she shared.

Claire, who’s a former college athlete herself and an entrepreneur in her own right, told PEOPLE how she’s all in on supporting her husband both on and off the field. She understands the realities he goes through, having shared similar experiences in the sports world.

“He’s living out his dream, right? I was an athlete as well growing up my entire life, played basketball in college. That’s where we met. Every athlete wants to go and play professionally,” she emphasized. “And he’s doing that. He’s of the 1% and he’s very, very good at it. He’s one of the top players.”

“I don’t want him to have any regrets whatsoever on the football field,” she continued. “I want him to be as successful as possible for when he hangs up the cleats one day… and then transition into that retirement a little bit easier.”

Claire concluded, “It’s never going to be easy, but a little bit easier, hopefully.”