Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) during NFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium.

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Will George Kittle Remain In San Francisco As He Enters His Final Year Of Contract?

Will San Francisco and George Kittle reach a new agreement?

Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) during NFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium.

The San Francisco 49ers selected tight end George Kittle in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, but the returns they have received for this selection are incredible. Kittle is today, one of the top tight ends in the league who is as good a pass-catcher as he is a blocker. Working his tail off, and giving his 100% in each game, the 31-year-old is a leader both on and off the field. So, naturally, the 49ers would want to do everything possible to keep him on for a few more years.

What Kittle brings to the 49ers’ offense is his flamboyance, energy, and tireless work ethic that drives his team. The offense can function in a variety of ways with Kittle on the field. Moreover, he is a reliable target for the quarterback and has developed a nice relationship with Brock Purdy who himself will be entering contract talks with the team. It will be interesting to see how the NFC West franchise goes about with their big decisions as key players will need to be paid to keep them around for years to come.

Also Read: Cam Ward fires back at critics, eyes 2025 NFL Draft

George Kittle’s Current Contract

Kittle, who is entering the final year of his contract, will be earning a base salary of $14.4 million in 2025. He signed a 5-year, $75 million contract back in 2020 as an extension to his rookie deal at the time. With an average annual salary of $15 million, the 49ers should find it easy to offer him a new deal given the way the tight-end market is at the moment.

Despite some standout players in this position such as Travis Kelce, T.J. Hockenson, Dallas Goedert, and more, none of them are commanding extravagant fees. As a matter of fact, Kelce, who is the highest-paid tight end, is making just a little over $17 million per year. With the high possibility of wide receiver Deebo Samuel making his way out of San Francisco, that should open up some cap space for the 49ers to work out a new deal with Kittle.

George Kittle’s 2024 Season

The past year was Kittle’s eighth season in the league and performance-wise it turned out to be one of his better seasons. In spite of missing out on a couple of games, the star tight end still racked up 1,106 receiving yards which was the second-best of his career. His 8 touchdowns also rank in the top two of his career.

Kittle’s performance earned him yet another Pro Bowl selection, his sixth in 8 years, and he was one of the stars that shone brightly in a season that was marred by injuries. That is all the more reason to renew Kittle as he hasn’t been injury prone barring the one season in 2020 where he missed nearly half the season.

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NFL

San Francisco 49ers

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!