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George Kittle is going to get paid. It’s a matter of when, not if. The 26-year-old All-Pro tight end, about to enter the final year of his four-year rookie deal, is only set to make a tick over $2.14 million next season and is in line for a massive contract extension.
The 49ers also have to negotiate a deal with DeForest Buckner, who is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal at $14.36 million. Sufficed to say, the clock is ticking.
Despite that, Kittle’s agent, Jack Bechta, told The Athletic’s Matt Barrows he’s ready to be “very patient,” in working out a new deal for Kittle, saying, “He’s the poster child of culture for that team, of the type of player they want on that team.”
While an extension for Buckner will no doubt be massive, Kittle’s will be record-setting (some projections here). He’s going to set a new yearly average of at least $14 million per year, and in all likelihood, should be making more what elite receivers do, in the $16-18 million range.
Why might Bechta have such patience on a pressing matter? First, he knows how valuable Kittle is to the 49ers and losing him would be a catastrophic failure on their end. And second, there are two young tight ends hitting the free agency market in about three weeks (free agency starts March 18).
Both Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers and Austin Hooper of the Atlanta Falcons are 25 years old, and it’s safe to expect that both will re-set the mark for tight end contracts. The upper echelon of what tight ends make has stagnated in recent years, with the $10 million per season made by the Green Bay Packers’ Jimmy Graham leading the current yearly average.
Given their age, value and productivity, Henry and Hooper project to make at least more than that $10 million a year mark. There’s always the possibility that both are franchise tagged at a projected $10.7 million, with that window currently open until March 12.
Whatever those players make, (and again, it should be more than that franchise tag number, and around in the $12 million per year range), Kittle will earn significantly more. This is an offseason ripe for a reset of the tight end market, and whatever happens with Henry and Hooper will set a new bar, which Kittle will immediately and substantially exceed.