49ers extending George Kittle won’t be easy, but…

The 49ers couldn’t screw up a George Kittle contract extension, could they?

The San Francisco 49ers need to offer up whatever money All-Pro tight end George Kittle wants.

It’s as simple as that, right?

Well, it should be. Except for the fact it isn’t. If it was so easy, the Michael Silver report saying Kittle and the Niners “remain far apart on a contract extension” wouldn’t be news. But it is. And it shouldn’t be hard to understand why.

San Francisco, now a Super Bowl contender, currently has $15,645,549 in available cap space, per Over the Cap. That doesn’t include roughly $7 million needed to sign the team’s rookie NFL Draft class. And while there are some well-known names set to hit free agency in 2021, namely cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Jaquiski Tartt, this isn’t the case of the 49ers expecting a gross freeing up of cap space in the near future.

Particularly if concerns about a league-wide revenue loss cut into the projected salary cap in 2021.

According to Spotrac’s market-value tool, Kittle’s projected new contract value would be four years at $68.05 million, roughly $17 million per year, which would smash the current amount held by Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry ($10.61 million per year).

That’s wide receiver money. Considering what value Kittle offers the Niners, he’s worth every penny. And arguably then some.

What could go right for the 49ers?

San Francisco is one of the league’s best at negotiating contracts and managing the salary cap. That’s a bonus for the Niners and certainly something Kittle and his agent, Jack Bechta, are aware of.

The 49ers don’t necessarily have to make an extension happen now. They have the rest of this year, yes, but there’s always the franchise tag in 2021. It’s rarely a popular option, but it’s there and keeps open the window of time the team has with which to negotiate. Time is the key factor for that concern.

OTC is also projecting the 2021 salary cap being set at $215 million, giving the Niners projected cap space of $49,781,160.

Putting $17 million in there isn’t that hard to do, right? Particularly if San Francisco aims to backload the deal to an extent and bank on a notable increase in the salary cap for 2022 or 2023.

What could go wrong for the 49ers?

Few players enjoy being slapped with the franchise tag. Remember running back Le’Veon Bell with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018? That didn’t go so well. And the initial period of time when the Niners tagged kicker Robbie Gould in 2019 wasn’t particularly great, either.

But it could get worse, especially if the 49ers play more hardball.

Kittle could, and some may argue he should, hold out until a new deal is finalized. He has far outplayed what he was set to earn on his rookie contract and then some. No arguments there.

Yet that’s where things get even dicier for San Francisco. Kittle’s importance to the Niners offense, and the team as a whole, is inherently necessary to their Super Bowl aspirations. It would be one thing if the 49ers were rebuilding and needing a centerpiece. But that’s not the case here. Losing Kittle to a holdout would have unforeseen consequences, very few of them any good.

Kittle and his agent know that, too.

Tough decisions for 49ers on George Kittle

The simple fix isn’t that simple. It’s hard.

San Francisco is likely going to have to free up cap space by parting ways with some other more-expensive players on the roster. Case in point, center Weston Richburg commands a cap hit of $4.4 million this year, and it’s highly unlikely he plays out his contract which expires in 2022. EDGE Dee Ford, who is set to earn $17.6 million in 2021, would cost the Niners $1.6 million in dead money with $16 million freed up if cut a little less than a year from now.

Those two deals would hinder the 49ers’ Super Bowl window over the next two years, yes. But things get even trickier when considering how many other pending extensions the team has on the table.

Linebacker Fred Warner is due soon. So is right tackle Mike McGlinchey. Down the road, EDGE Nick Bosa could end up being the highest-paid defender in the NFL if his trajectory continues as many think it will.

See? It’s not easy at all.

Either way, the 49ers could figure out a way to make it work. But there are going to be ramifications all over the roster as a result.

But those are decisions good teams have to make.