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49ers TE George Kittle Disputes Report About his Contract Negotiation

It's hard to tell where the 49ers stand with George Kittle these days.
Grant Cohn|
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

It's hard to tell where the 49ers stand with George Kittle these days.

He has one year left on his deal, he wants an extension and was one of the few veterans if not the only one who didn't show up to Phase 1 of OTAs on Tuesday. To be fair, he often doesn't show up for Phase 1. But this year, it's hard not to wonder if his absence is contract-related.

On Wednesday, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that his absence indeed is contract-related. Kittle quickly took to social media to dispute her report.

Russini's source could have fed her a bunch of bologna but her report was shockingly specific. She made five claims:

1. Kittle skipped Phase 1 of OTAs because he's unhappy with his contract negotiation.

2. Kittle and the 49ers remain far apart in these negotiations.

3. Kittle wants to be the NFL's highest-paid tight end.

4. Kittle and his agent have rejected multiple offers from the 49ers.

5. Kittle hasn't requested a trade but other teams are monitoring in case he does.

It's unclear which of the five claims Kittle is disputing or if he's disputing all five.

Still, I wouldn't blame Kittle if he wants to be the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. He deserves that recognition. I also wouldn't blame him if he were to request a trade. He'll turn 32 in October and the 49ers' Super Bowl is closed until 2026 at the earliest.

If I were him, I'd want to play for a legitimate Super Bowl contender now, not a team in reset mode.

Stay tuned.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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