George Kittle thinks the tight end market is finally inching upward - but not nearly far enough.
On the “New Heights” podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce, the San Francisco 49ers star said the position is getting more respect and a little more money as NFL offenses keep leaning into multiple-tight-end looks. He pointed to teams such as the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams as examples of how the role is being used more often.
“We're kind of finally getting a little bit more money as a room, which honestly - yeah, we're getting a little bit more pay. I still think we should get more. But it is what it is.”
Kittle’s bigger point was about the tight ends who do the unglamorous work. He singled out 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk as the kind of player who handles the dirty jobs without getting paid like a star. Kittle called Juszczyk the offense’s “fixer,” the guy who can clean up broken plays in real time.
He also argued that some of the money at receiver should be flowing more toward tight ends who produce less in the box score but still carry a heavy load.
“There's No. 2 wide receivers who get 30 catches a year that are getting over $20 million. The tight end who plays like 50 snaps a game and has one target a game probably deserves at least - he should probably get 50 mil. That's just my opinion.”
Kittle pointed to Charlie Kolar’s contract with the Los Angeles Chargers as evidence the league is starting to value blocking tight ends more seriously. Kolar has 30 career receptions in four seasons and still landed a three-year deal worth $24.3 million with $17.0 million guaranteed.
At the top of the tight end pay scale, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts recently signed a three-year, $54 million extension this offseason. Kittle remains the current standard at the position after signing a four-year extension worth $76.4 million, while Trey McBride matched that tier with a four-year, $76 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals in 2025.
The next set of tight end contracts could get even more interesting with Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland all lining up for major deals in the years ahead.
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