Dennis Pitta Dennis Gregory Pitta II , nicknamed American Express ( born June 29 , 1985 ) is an American football tight end for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Brigham Young University ( BYU ) and was an All - American . He was drafted by the Ravens in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft . Early years . Pitta was born in Fresno , California to parents Dennis and Linda Pitta . His father played college football as a middle linebacker for California from 1968 to 1969 . Pitta attended Moorpark High School in Moorpark , California , where he earned letters in football , basketball , and track . He is an Eagle Scout . He played football as a wide receiver and cornerback , and his large size made him difficult to cover . As a senior in 2002 , Pitta recorded 64 reception s for 1 , 150 yards and 13 touchdown s . That season , he was named a first - team all - county , all - league , and all - area player . He was a scholar - athlete all four years in high school and was also named a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete . Pitta was shown interest by Dartmouth , Navy , Oklahoma State , Oregon , Utah , and Yale , but no Division I school offered him a scholarship . College career . Pitta chose to attend Brigham Young University , where he walked onto the BYU Cougars football team as a wide receiver . Pitta was moved to tight end by head coach Gary Crowton , where he soon earned a scholarship . He sat out the 2003 season on " grayshirt " status . In 2004 , he saw significant playing time as a result of an injury to starter Daniel Coats . Pitta recorded 17 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns , and actually finished the season with more receptions than Coats . Both of his scores came in the game against Air Force , where he also blocked a punt upon which BYU capitalized for a score . Pitta is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints . Pitta participated in a Mormon mission in the Dominican Republic , which caused a two - year hiatus in his college football career . He returned to BYU for the 2007 season , and recorded 59 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns . He finished the season as the nation ' s fifth - leading tight end in yards per game at 63 . Pitta was named to the All - Mountain West Conference ( MWC ) first team , and he also received Academic All - MWC honors . In 2008 , he recorded 83 receptions for 1 , 083 yards and six touchdowns . Against Northern Iowa , he compiled 213 yards , which broke the conference receiving yards record for a tight end and earned him the John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors . Against Colorado State , he caught the game - winning 17 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Max Hall , and was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week and a MWC Co - Offensive Player of the Week . Pitta finished the season as the team ' s second - leading receiver . He was a Lombardi Award and Biletnikoff Award candidate , and a Mackey Award semifinalist . Pitta was named to the All - MWC first team , and again received Academic All - MWC honors . " College Football News " and " Sports Illustrated " named him an honorable mention All - American , and Rivals . com named him to its All - America third team . Prior to the 2009 season , The NFL Draft Scout , a CBS Sports affiliate , rated Pitta as the sixth - ranked out of 92 tight ends available for the 2010 NFL Draft . They project him as being selected in the third or fourth round . " Phil Steele ' s " assessed him as the fourth - ranked draft - eligible tight end and placed him on its preseason All - America fourth team . He was one of three finalists for the Mackey Award . He was named to the 2009 All - MWC first team and the 2009 AFCA Coaches ' All - America team . Dennis Pitta , Reception Records in BYU Cougars football History Professional career . Baltimore Ravens ( 2010 - present ) . Pitta was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round ( 114th overall ) of the 2010 NFL Draft . The pick was one of three that the Ravens acquired in a trade with the Denver Broncos on the first night of the draft on April 22 . The Broncos received a first - round pick which was used to select Tim Tebow . Pitta was signed to a three - year contract on June 21 , 2010 . In his rookie year , Pitta had only one catch for a single yard while playing behind Todd Heap and fellow - rookie Ed Dickson . In 2011 however , quarterback Joe Flacco looked for Pitta often , and Pitta stepped into a more valuable role , with 40 catches for 405 yards and three touchdowns . By then , Terrell Suggs nicknamed him " American Express " . In the Ravens ' 2012 season opener in Cincinnati , Pitta caught 5 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown , with quarterback Joe Flacco targeting him 10 times . By October , he was the starting TE in front of Ed Dickson . However , Dickson was listed ahead of Pitta in Super Bowl XLVII . In Super Bowl XLVII , Pitta caught four balls for 26 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Ravens to a 34 - 31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers . In the entire playoffs , he caught touchdowns in 3 of the 4 games . On May 13 , 2013 , the Baltimore Ravens announced that Pitta signed his second round restricted free agent tender worth $ 2 . 023 million . On July 27 , 2013 , Pitta suffered a dislocated and fractured hip during training camp and underwent surgery the same night . Pitta was not immediately placed on injured reserve and examinations of the hip revealed no ligament or cartilage damage , leaving some hope that Pitta may be able to return sometime during the 2013 season . In Week 14 of the 2013 season , Pitta returned to on field action for first time since Super Bowl XLVII . He caught 6 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown in a 29 - 26 win against the Minnesota Vikings . On February 28 , 2014 , the Baltimore Ravens and Pitta agreed to a 5 year $ 32 million contract .