49ers: Predicting what a George Kittle contract extension looks like

The San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle will become the highest-paid tight end in NFL history soon, but one has to wonder what the numbers and terms will look like.

Not long before San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo signed what was then the largest contract afforded a signal-caller in NFL history, I predicted Jimmy G would receive a five-year, $137.5 million deal.

No joke. I predicted it (kudos to me).

Now, heading into the 2020 season, the Niners are faced with dishing out another new contract, this time for All-Pro tight end George Kittle.

Kittle, who is entering year four of his four-year rookie deal, stands to become the highest-paid tight end in NFL history. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the numerous records and accolades he’s set since San Francisco selected him in Round 5 of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Simply put, the $674,574 annual average on his current contract has been a total bargain.

NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported the 49ers are gearing up to pay Kittle, who could opt to hold out until a new deal is reached. It would make a lot of sense from Kittle’s vantage point. After all, one could argue he’s the most important offensive weapon San Francisco has, let alone being chosen as Pro Football Focus’ best overall player in 2019.

So, what would a new contract extension for Kittle look like?

For starters, the market for top-performing tight ends was recently set higher when the Cleveland Browns agreed to a new No. 2 record-high (behind Los Angeles Chargers TE Hunter Henry) four-year, $42 million deal with $23 million guaranteed. That’s an average annual value of $10.5 million, and Kittle’s contract is likely to expand far beyond that.

The valuation has to take into account a number of things. Kittle isn’t just a prolific pass catcher with the stats and numbers to back it up. As one of the league’s best blockers, he’s a vastly important weapon even when the ball isn’t thrown in his direction. As a decoy, he makes life much easier for the 49ers’ other pass catchers, too.

All those factors, plus Kittle’s budding star power and the desire for fans to come watch him play, only serve to drive the price tag up.

Unlike Garoppolo, this isn’t the case of a player hitting free agency at the right time. Kittle has the on-field stats and presence to command wide receiver-type money, which could easily get him into the range of $13 million to $17 million annually.

With plenty guaranteed, too.

One player closely compared with Kittle is the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end, Travis Kelce, who signed a five-year, $46.842 million deal back in 2016 when he was just 26 years old, the same age as Kittle now. Kelce’s prorated signing bonus was slightly less than $2 million per year, which means Kittle’s bonus will probably be in the range of $2.25 million.

Up until 2020, the 49ers were in a position to frontload a lot of their contracts, including Garoppolo’s. Given the Niners have $13,475,456 in cap space currently, according to Over the Cap, and just over $8 million of that will be used to sign the rookie NFL Draft class coming in later this month, totally frontloading Kittle’s deal won’t be an option.

As was the case with Kelce, the middle portions of Kittle’s contract likely eat up a large chunk of the money allocated.

For predictions, one is probably looking into the range of five years, $70 million with $27 million guaranteed.

That would provide Kittle with an average annual contract value of $14 million, making him the highest-paid tight end on such a basis by $3.4 million over Henry.

Again, consider wide receiver numbers here.

Fortunately, the 49ers are one of the league’s best when it comes to negotiating contracts and managing the salary cap. So while the financial aspects of the deal seem daunting, one should assume San Francisco is able to get it done to both parties’ desired expectations.