When it came to George Kittle, the 49ers couldn’t bring themselves to play contract hardball.
Kittle was justly rewarded with a contract extension that should enable him to end his career with the team that made him a fifth-round draft pick in 2017 with a first-time head coach in Kyle Shanahan and a first-time general manager in John Lynch.
“Culture” is one of the most overused terms in sports, but not where Kittle is concerned. He’s not only a future Hall of Famer but a tone-setter whose presence is as uplifting in the locker room as it is on the field.
With Kittle officially in the fold as of Tuesday morning, there will be no repeat of the protracted negotiations with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams last summer that played a role in setting a negative tone to a 6-11 season.
Kittle should join the team for Phase 2 of the offseason program and through training camp. There will be 11 draft picks and six undrafted rookies who will benefit by watching his every move. Aside from quarterback Brock Purdy, who was on site for Phase 1 and has given no indication he’ll withhold his services while an extension is being negotiated, there is no more important player in the organization.
That’s not to denigrate the skills of running back Christian McCaffrey and Williams. When healthy they’re also worthy of a bust in Canton. But they started their career elsewhere. Kittle arrived at ground zero of the current regime. Being a 49er is all he’s known since arriving in the fifth round out of Iowa with the 146th pick in the NFL Draft.
Following the season, Kittle was clear in his wishes to finish his career as a 49er. And when a report surfaced last week there was a wide gulf in negotiations, he refuted it on social media.
To drag things out with the most respected player on the roster would have sent the wrong message. Instead, Kittle was reportedly guaranteed $40 million and maximum of $76.4 million with an annual salary of $19.1 million that makes him the NFL’s highest paid tight end.
Bean counters can criticize the 49ers for waiting until the Arizona Cardinals paid tight end Trey McBride a four-year, $76 million with an average of $19 million for driving up Kittle’s price. But there is no argument that can be made for driving a hard bargain for a player whose dedication to his craft is beyond question and serves as an example to everyone else on the roster.
Given the 49ers’ penchant for drawing out contract drama and their offseason makeover in terms of payroll and personnel, it was natural to be concerned. Kittle is 31, and there’s an old Bill Walsh philosophy of getting rid of a player a year too early rather than a year too late.
Yet where Kittle doesn’t look anywhere close to the end. The numbers — 538 receptions, 7,380 yards and 45 touchdowns, a first- or second-team All-Pro five times — are only part of his value. While the 49ers struggled in 2024, Kittle had one of his best years.
Kittle’s personality is thoroughly modern, but his play is decidedly old-school. He pancakes would-be tacklers with regularity and relishes that part of the job as much as he does catching the ball and scoring touchdowns. He’s a modern-day Mike Ditka in terms of style — and not by accident.
He’s turned his Nashville home into a laboratory for pushing his body to the limit and beyond physically, conceding he’s spent more than a million dollars.
“When it comes to your body, that’s your business,” Kittle said last August. “You don’t need to go buy three cars, you don’t need to get everything you want.”
Kittle has grown into a cottage industry. He advertises several products and has grown into the one of the biggest personalities in the NFL. He’s funny and engaging and never met a camera or a microphone he didn’t like, a stark contrast to the polite and respectful rookie who arrived in 2017.
“I would call him and check on how his ankle was doing… and he’d be like, ‘Yes, sir. It’s perfect. I’m fine. No, I don’t feel anything,’” Shanahan said last season. “Then I’d watch him limp out of my office…. Now he’s more social and outgoing.”
Social and outgoing is putting it mildly. He’s full of nonsense with a passion for the professional wrestling, Spider-Man and sneakers. But he’s ultra serious in his mental and physical preparation and has a zest for the game that rubs off on his teammates.
Off the field, besides the good times, Kittle is heavily involved in military charities and has been the entire package when it comes to being an ambassador for the organization.
Aside from physical skill, there is no quality Shanahan and Lynch value more than someone who “loves football.” It sounds obvious and trite except when applied to Kittle. In that aspect, he’s the gold standard and a player the 49ers need as a center of attention for a young roster learning the ropes.
Lynch talks often about what it means to be 49er, and no one on the roster embodies that more than Kittle.
The 49ers paid top dollar for Nick Bosa, McCaffrey, Williams and Aiyuk. They’ll ante up soon for Purdy, who probably wouldn’t be in the building if he thought an extension wasn’t going to happen. They may do the same for linebacker Fred Warner, although he’s on site and doesn’t seem overly concerned about it.
Rewarding Kittle creates offseason momentum while a holdout would have stifled it. It’s an indication the 49ers are still serious about winning and that the roster purge had to do with performance related to a 6-11 record as much as it did finances.
