Will the 49ers Decide Not to Extend George Kittle's Contract?

Don't be shocked if Kittle ultimately plays out his contract and leaves next year.

Mar 3, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Francisco 49's tight end George Kittle watches a game between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Here's what we know about George Kittle's future with the 49ers.

He's entering the final season of his contract and he wants an extension. Last week at the NFL Scouting Combine, general manager John Lynch said that he and Kittle's agent have engaged in extension talks and that Lynch wants Kittle to retire with the 49ers.

Lynch always says the right things. But just because he wants to extend Kittle doesn't mean the 49ers owners want to pay the cash required to do so.

The 49ers know they probably will give the richest contract in franchise history to Brock Purdy this offseason. The signing bonus alone could cost them $75 million. That's a big check to write, particularly after the 49ers just bought a controlling share of Rangers FC -- a Scottish soccer team.

That's why the 49ers are purging their roster of overpaid players -- Deebo Samuel and Javon Hargrave in particular. More cuts could be coming. The 49ers owners simply don't want to spend lots of cash this year after dolling out $334 million last year on a team that went 6-11.

So giving an extension, guaranteed money and another signing bonus to a tight end who will turn 32 this year might not be something the owners want to do. It's something the 49ers definitely would have done last year (see the extensions for Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk), but this offseason has an extremely different feel.

Don't be shocked if Kittle ultimately plays out his contract and leaves next year.

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