Kittle agrees to richest contract for tight end
All-Pro tight end George Kittle agreed to a five-year, $75 million extension with the San Francisco 49ers that is the richest contract ever at the position.
A person familiar with the deal said the sides agreed Thursday on the deal to keep Kittle off the market next offseason. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract hadn’t been announced by the team.
NFL Network first reported the terms and says the deal includes an $18 million signing bonus.
“Kittle is Kittle. He’s a beast,” teammate Dee
Ford said. “He’s the best blocking tight end, best catching tight end, best tight end in the league. So it’s always good competition going against him. I’m proud of him and he really deserves every penny.”
Locking up Kittle was a high priority this offseason for the Niners and they were able to get it done two days before the first full team practice at training camp.
Kittle had been one of the NFL’s biggest bargains after being drafted in the fifth round in 2017 and now he gets the biggest contract ever at the position. The previous high for annual value on a multiyear contract for a tight end, according to overthecap.com, was the $42 million, four-year deal
Austin Hooper signed this offseason in Cleveland.
Hunter Henry is playing this season for the Chargers on a $10.6 million franchise tag.
The Niners could have used the tag on Kittle the next two offseasons, but instead managed to work out a long-term deal that satisfied both sides.
“He’s earned it,” coach
Kyle Shanahan told flagship radio station KNBR. “He does everything the right way. It starts with how talented and good you play on Sunday, which he does better than any tight end in the league. But after that, the way the guy takes care of himself. The way he works year-round to put his body in a position to stay healthy with the way he plays. It makes you believe in the guy.
Chiefs: Kansas City and star tight end Travis Kelce agreed to a fouryear, $57.25 million contract extension that will keep him with the Super Bowl champions through 2025, a person familiar with the contract tells The Associated Press. The move to secure the twotime All-Pro tight end is the latest in a string of big-money deals negotiated by general manager Brett Veach to keep the core of the Chiefs intact this offseason. The biggest was the record-setting 10-year extension quarterback Patrick Mahomes
signed that could be worth about a half-billion dollars, while the latest had been a four-year, $85 million deal with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones.
The Chiefs and the twotime All-Pro agreed to a four-year, $57.25 million extension that will keep him with the Super Bowl champions through 2025, a person familiar with the contract told The AP.
Bills: Buffalo is protecting quarterback Josh Allen’s blindside for the long term after signing left tackle Dion Dawkins toa four-year, $60 million contract extension.
The team announced the signing, while a person with direct knowledge of the contract provided the value of the deal to The AP. Dawkins has been a starter in Buffalo since being selected in the second round of the 2017 draft out of Temple. He had one year left on his rookie contract, and is now signed through the 2024 season.
At 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, the 26-year-old Dawkins has 43 career starts, all at left tackle. He also scored a touchdown receiving, in catching a 7-yard pass from backup Matt Barkley in a 41-10 win at the New York Jets on Nov. 11, 2018.