The San Francisco 49ers reached an agreement with George Kittle this week that made him the highest-paid tight end in NFL history, but he may only hold that title for a very brief period.
Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are also closing in on a long-term agreement, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the deal will be a four-year extension.
Kelce still has two years remaining on the five-year, $46 million deal he signed with the Chiefs back in 2016. However, it will be fairly easy for him to make the argument that he deserves to be paid more than Kittle.
Kelce had 1,229 yards receiving last year, which was his fourth consecutive 1,000-plus yard season. He caught five touchdown passes after snagging 10 in 2018 and eight in 2017. Kittle is several years younger than the 30-year-old Kelce and on the same career path, but the 49ers star has only had two consecutive years with 1,000-plus yards and has not eclipsed five touchdown catches in any of his three NFL seasons.
With all of that in mind, Kelce will almost certainly get something comparable to the five-year, $75 million extension Kittle got from San Francisco. The Chiefs have already shelled out a massive amount of money this offseason to keep their core players happy, and it’s possible they had a handshake agreement in place to sign Kelce to a new deal as soon as Kittle set the market.
