George Kittle lands 5-year, $75 million extension with 49ers, source confirms
The NFL’s best tight end will stay with the 49ers for next phase of what’s been a sterling career.
The defending NFC champions on Thursday agreed to terms on a market-shattering five-year, $75 million contract for George Kittle, a league source confirmed to The Sacramento Bee, answering the team’s only significant off-the-field question ahead of the start of training camp practices next week.
The deal makes Kittle the highest paid tight end in NFL history and includes an $18 million signing bonus, $30 million guaranteed at signing and $40 million in total guarantees, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. NFL Network was first to report the news Thursday morning.
“I think we don’t have to say how important George is to us, not only as being the best tight end, to me, in the league, but also the type of person he is,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Aug. 3.
Kittle, 26, was entering the final season of his modest four-year rookie contract he signed after entering the league as a fifth-round draft choice in 2017. The first-team All Pro was set to make some $2.1 million in 2020 but instead will get a substantial raise after making just under $2 million during his first three seasons combined. He had been participating in the start of training camp since late last month despite not having the new deal completed. He’ll be under team control through 2026.
The unique circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into negotiations while many believed the contract would have been done far sooner. But the pandemic is expected to bring a huge loss of revenue to the NFL with teams expected to play games in front of few or no fans leading to a $4 billion windfall for the league and a $175 million salary cap for 2021, roughly $40 million lower than initial projections.
Kittle, meanwhile, will be under San Francisco’s control through the prime of his career after setting a NFL record for tight ends with 2,945 yards over his first three seasons. He’s the 49ers’ No. 1 option in the passing game, having caught 216 passes and scored 12 touchdowns, and is widely regarded as the best blocking tight end in the league.
The new deal shatters the modest market for tight ends. Austin Hooper’s four-year, $42 million contract with the Cleveland Browns he signed in the spring with $23 million guaranteed was the previous largest for a tight end in league history. And Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry was going to lead the position with a $11 million salary on the fully-guaranteed franchise tag.
But Kittle, who was voted as the No. 7 player in the league by his peers in an NFL Network poll, will now be paid commensurate with his status as one of the most important players on a team that finished 13-3 in 2019, was the No. 1 seed in the NFC and reached the Super Bowl.
Kittle is also a darling of the analytics community. He was first in the NFL in 2019 in yards per route run (3.12), according to Pro Football Focus, well ahead of Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (2.89) and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (2.89).
Kittle was second in that category in 2018 at 2.82 behind only Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones (2.93). That was also the season in which Kittle set a league record for a tight end with 1,377 receiving yards. His 1,494 yards after the catch were the most of any receiver or tight end the past two seasons and he forced the most missed tackles last year with 20.
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 8:14 AM.
