All 49ers

Does George Kittle Still Want to Sign an Extension with the 49ers?

Kittle might not want to play the rest of his career on a team that's rebuilding and not selling out to win a Super Bowl.
Grant Cohn|
Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) watches the action in the second quarter against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) watches the action in the second quarter against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

After the 49ers season ended, George Kittle said that he wants to sign an extension and finish his career in Santa Clara.

Does he still feel that way?

Since Kittle made that statement, the 49ers have let nine starters leave in free agency and have signed zero starters to replace them. Apparently, the replacements will come from the Draft, and draft picks often take a few years to develop. Which means the 49ers probably aren't legitimate Super Bowl contenders right now like they were the past few seasons.

The 49ers are going through a roster reset, which means they're trying to get younger and cheaper. Meanwhile, Kittle is getting older and more expensive. He currently costs the 49ers $15 million per season. If he signs an extension that makes him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, then he'll cost the 49ers at least $20 million per season.

It's possible the 49ers don't want to pay an aging player that much money, particularly when they could draft his replacement this year in Tyler Warren.

It's also possible that Kittle might not want to play the rest of his career on a team that's rebuilding and not selling out to win a Super Bowl.

Keep in mind, this offseason the 49ers tried to sign Joey Bosa, but he ultimately signed with the Bills, who offered a few million more per season and a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl now.

Maybe Kittle would like that chance as well.

Read more

Published
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.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News