Tight End Day: Kittle and Kelce Get Massive Extensions
Tight End Day: Kittle and Kelce Get Massive Extensions
When you look at the layout of every team, the highest-paid players are usually the quarterbacks and defensive linemen. Very rarely will you see a tight end making big money, but Thursday that became more common when Travis Kelce and George Kittle signed massive extensions. Let us dive into both players.
George Kittle
For weeks now, the 49ers have been negotiating with George Kittle and today they finally hit paydirt. Kittle inked a 5 year/$75M contract, with $40M in total guaranteed money. $30M of that is guaranteed at signing. This is the largest contract for a tight end in NFL history, and it is money well spent. Many will say that you should not spend a lot on a tight end, but when he is your team’s most important offensive player, you do not let him even touch free agency. With the quarterback also locked up and Kyle Shanahan’s ability to get the most out of low market running backs and receivers, the 49ers offense is going to be scary in 2020.
Travis Kelce
Only a few hours after the Kittle extension, the Chiefs locked up yet another key player on their roster. Along with Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones, Travis Kelce is now going to be a Chief for the foreseeable future. The Super Bowl champion agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $57.25M, $28M guaranteed. While Kittle’s deal is longer in years, the annual amount is close if not the same as Kittle’s. The Chiefs are doing an outstanding job locking up their key cogs before they hit the market, making it even more likely that they can become the next dynasty in the NFL.
What this means for the Rest
Football is a sport of trends and copying success, which leads to the question, will teams start to value tight ends more and pay them? The answer to this in my opinion is that it depends on who are you paying, just like every other position. If you have a tight end with the talent of Kittle and Kelce or someone that is arguably your best offensive player outside of the quarterback position, then you make the signing. Despite this, I do not believe anyone in the league will make as much as either of these guys. Zack Ertz is the closest, especially factoring in that he is the Eagles best weapon on the offensive side of the ball. Besides Ertz, guys like Mark Andrews, Darren Waller, and Hunter Henry will most likely get between $10M-$12M. Even with these deals, I am not sure the rest of the NFL is completely sold on giving tight ends a lot of money in such a quarterback-driven league.
Contract details from sportingnews.com
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