The San Francisco 49ers made George Kittle the highest-paid tight end in NFL history Tuesday.
The 49ers signed Kittle to a four-year deal worth up to $76.4 million with $40 million in guarantees, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of $19.1 million, surpassing the previous record of $19 million set by Trey McBride earlier during the 2025 offseason.
Kittle has been a crucial part of San Francisco’s offense since being a fifth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. The 31-year-old posted 78 catches for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024, becoming just the fifth tight end in NFL history to record four-plus 1,000-yard seasons. The others were Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce and Jason Witten.
Given Kittle’s history of high-end production, it’s little surprise the team decided to keep him. Locking him up beyond the 2025 NFL season should now free the team up to focus on signing their next key offensive player to a long-term extension: quarterback Brock Purdy.
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Purdy would appear to be the clear-cut next in line for a lucrative extension for the 49ers. The 25-year-old quarterback is set to be a free agent following the 2025 NFL season, so there is some urgency to get a deal done with the 2023 Pro Bowler and avoid slapping him with the franchise tag.
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Before Kittle’s extension, he was also set to be a free agent following the 2025 NFL season. One could have argued he and Purdy were of equal importance to San Francisco’s offensive success despite Purdy playing the more valuable position.
But with Kittle now on a long-term deal, the 49ers don’t have another pending free agent with the same pedigree as Purdy. Sure, Jauan Jennings and Colton McKivitz are two starters who will see their contracts expire following the season, but neither is nearly as crucial to San Francisco’s offensive success as its 25-year-old quarterback.
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Not only is Purdy now the clear-cut priority, but the 49ers should also have a better idea of what their salary cap will look like in 2026 and beyond. They have cost-certainty with Kittle, who no longer has void years – an accounting mechanism used by NFL teams to defray the cap hit of a player by prorating it over years he is not officially on the team’s roster – on his contract that run from the 2026-2028 seasons.
Kittle’s new deal should help San Francisco better understand the resources it has long-term, which could inform it how exactly to structure Purdy’s eventual extension. That would maximize the team’s financial flexibility and keep its Super Bowl window open.
With that in mind, the path to a Purdy extension seems clearer than ever, especially with Purdy seeming eager to negotiate a deal. He reported to the first (and voluntary) phase of 49ers OTAs despite not having a new contract, which bought him some goodwill with 49ers general manager John Lynch.
“That’s Brock,” Lynch said, addressing Purdy’s OTA appearance amid contract negotiations. “He’s a pro. Brock’s very clear-minded and not going to let other people influence what he should be doing. And that’s one thing everybody I think respects about Brock. He’s done a lot for this organization and we’re grateful for him and looking forward to having him as our quarterback for a long time.”
As such, it seems like it will just be a matter of time before a deal is struck between Purdy and the 49ers.
