49ers TE George KittleUnited Press
The San Francisco 49ers ‘George Kittle and Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce were just the two highest paid close ends in the NFL. INaccording to NFL Media Ian Rapoport. Kittle signed a five-year extension worth $ 75 million, while Kelce reportedly signed a four-year extension worth $ 57 million.
According to Spotrac, Kittle’s new deal ($ 15 million) puts him just ahead of Kelce ($ 14.3 million) in terms of annual value, while the Los Angeles Chargers’ Hunter Henry is the next in line with an annual salary of $ 10.6 million – the value of its one-year franchise tag.
The Cleveland Browns’ Austin Hooper is the only other tight end expected to earn more than $ 10 million a year on his current deal. Considering he was the highest paid end of the league in terms of annual value – the count Henry did not count – when he signed that contract, it is safe to say that Kelce and Kittle entered the market to a very substantial extent have returned.
Now it’s worth noting that Kittle and Kelce are not your tight ends of the mill. As ESPN’s Field Yates recently announced, they are players appearing on pace for the Hall of Fame:
Field Yates @FieldYates
George Kittle has more receiving yards than any TE in NFL history through three seasons (2,945), the most catches through a TE through three seasons (219), the most receiving yards in one season through a TE ever (1,377) and is the best blocking TE in football. Absolute balls.
Teams usually do not dare to pay a real difference maker, which is exactly what Kittle and Kelce are.
“If you have a guy like George who is different and special, and it’s not just about being the best tight end in the NFL, it’s who he is after all,” head coach Kyle said Shanahan of 49ers to KNBRs Murph and Mac Show (h / t Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area).
However, these massive pay days are not just about Kittle and Kelce individually. The reality is that an elite passing tight end has become one of the most important assets a modern NFL offense can have – and contracts are beginning to reflect this.
Why are tight ends so valuable?
Having a top-tier pass-catcher at tight end is not some new NFL mud – Kellen Winslow placed 1000-yard seasons in the early 1980s. While NFL rosters have evolved, however, offensive coordinators have been able to use tight ends to make bigger and more important fouls on a regular basis.
Much of this has to do with the way NFL offenses have shifted to give the pass first and often the most. Defenses have responded by often using smaller but faster and rangier linebackers and safetys to improve coverage.
Brian Urlacher, considered a very average linebacker in his day, was a stubborn 6’4 “and 258 pounds. Cory Littleton – who signed a three-year, $ 35.3 million deal in free agency largely because of his coverage skills – is mentioned at 6 ‘3’ and 228 pounds.
An elite tight end is almost always a speed / bad mismatch against a linebacker, but in many cases they are now also a physical mismatch. Historically it has been a big / strength loss for defensive backs, tight ends can attack them with speed and route-running ability.
This has to do with how modern tight ends are developed and trained. No longer a player who occasionally snaps out of the locks to catch a pass, the modern tight end has the speed, field vision and footwork of a no. 1 wideout.
Close ends like Kittle and Kelce can mix it with linebackers and safetys, while also keeping pace with cornerbacks. They are the ultimate safety blanket for a quarterback, as they are almost never in an unfavorable situation.
Just remember the fact that when Kittle came out in the 2018 season – with 1,377 yards and five touchdowns – he did so with the tandem of CJ Beathard and Nick Mullens at quarterback. Kelce had back-to-back 1000-yard seasons before Patrick Mahomes took over as the Chiefs quarterback.
Of course, tight ends are still expected to block, and the big ones – like Kelce and Kittle – can do so at a high level.
The tight end has really become one of the most versatile chess pieces for an NFL offensive coordinator, and they change what crimes can be done and how they do it.
What’s next on the contract front?
Only four tight ends are scheduled to make more than $ 10 million annually, but that will change. There is too much value to the position, as Ian Kenyon of Bleacher Report recently pointed out:
Now Brandin Cooks and Jarvis Landry are fine passers-by. Cookies can get to the top of a defense, Landry is a reliable chain-mover, and both have been 1000-yard receivers. Kittle, for example, can do both of these things while also blocking defenders as an in-blocker.
Getting that kind of versatility for the same price as a good-but-not-All-Pro wideout is one great value. For far too long, we will be showing land contracts closely related to those of recipients of broad elite.
This is similar to how defensive tackles have started to catch on with edge-rusher contracts.
Teams are increasingly relying on interior pressure to combat speeding violations and take up space in their pockets. While quarterbacks can move up to prevent edge rushers or get the ball away before they arrive, it is harder to escape a defensive tackle offensive head-on. The market has begun to reflect this, and elite defensive approaches such as DeForest Buckner – which is a four years, $ 84 million expansion this offseason – start introducing $ 20 million a year of land.
A changing defensive approach has increased the market value of defensive approach, and a changing offensive approach can do the same for tight ends. As they become more prominent pieces of NFL offense around the league, the gap between tight end and wideout contracts will also narrow.
Who’s at the bar?
While the next tight end to pay may not top the deals of Kelce and Kittle in the next man-up way, the two Pro Bowlers have opened the door for tight ends to regularly top $ 10 million a season. This is huge news for tight ends like Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles, Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders and Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens.
Ertz, an established tight end and three-time Pro Bowler, could land an extension next offseason. However, he will have a year left on his current deal at a cap hit of $ 12.47 million.
Theoretically, Philadelphia could still pay another year for paying Ertz, although he can believe he should be paid among the very top ends of the league. He certainly believes he is one of them.
“I consider myself in that top spot of guys, in that same tier with all those guys, “Said Ertz, per Jimmy Kempski of the PhillyVoice.
Waller just signed an extension of four years with the Raiders, so Las Vegas should not be in a hurry to give him a new deal. However, if he continues to produce as he did in 2019 – 90 catches, 1,145 yards and three touchdowns – Waller may soon want an increase.
Waller’s annual salary is currently $ 7.53 million. He, Kelce and Kittle were the only tight ends to the top 1000 yards this past season.
Realistically, Andrews is the tight end that is likely to benefit the fastest from the new contract landscape. The Oklahoma product was first Pro Bowler in 2019 and finished with 852 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, and he serves as Lamar Jackson’s de facto No. 1 receiver on the Baltimore offense.
Andrews hopes his 2019 strong campaign is only a springboard.
“Returning from this offseason, I had a lot of time to think and watch movies, really working on my body to get to that next level,” Andrews said, via the Ravens official website. “I want to be the best tight end. I’m not there yet. I’m excited to show what I can do this year.”
Eligible for an expansion following offseason, the pick for third round of 2018 is set to earn less than $ 1 million in 2020 and just $ 1.13 million in 2021.
While tight ends like Andrews will strive to be more than Kittle and Kelce on the field, they will also be grateful for what they have done at the negotiating table. Meanwhile, teams that do not have a Kittle or a Kelce on the roster will continue to dig to find them.
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