49ers, All-Pro TE George Kittle Remain 'Far Apart' on New Contract, NFL Insider Says

Kittle is entering the final year of a five-year, $75 million deal.
Kittle has been an All-Pro in five of the last seven seasons
Kittle has been an All-Pro in five of the last seven seasons / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
In this story:

Brock Purdy's is not the only contract situation worth watching in the Bay Area this offseason.

On Monday, NFL insider Michael Silver reported for The Athletic that the San Francisco 49ers were "far apart" on talks for a new contract with star tight end George Kittle. Kittle, named a second-team All-Pro in 2024, is about to enter the final year of a five-year extension worth $75 million.

Kittle is annually one of the top tight ends in the NFL; he's been named a first- or second-team All-Pro in five of the last seven seasons. Last year he recorded 78 catches for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in what was otherwise a down year for the team as a whole. Few TEs in the league are as reliable in both the pass and run game as Kittle, and he is instrumental to Kyle Shanahan's offense in San Fran.

It seems Kittle would like to be recognized as such financially. But the 49ers are in the midst of negotiating a huge new deal with Purdy and shipped off veteran wideout Deebo Samuel partly as a cost-cutting measure. San Francisco doesn't have a lot of cap space to work with, in other words, and the team is coming off a big letdown of a 2024 campaign, finishing 6-11.

There's plenty of time to get something done before training camp, but the Kittle situation will be monitored going forward.


More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed


Published
Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.