Browns Austin Hooper No Longer Highest Paid Tight End in NFL
Almost nothing is as fleeting as being the top paid player at a position in the NFL. Austin Hooper signed what was the highest contract for the tight end position with the Cleveland Browns, knowing full well that George Kittle would reset the market. His reign at the top was longer than Myles Garrett's, which was around 20 minutes.
The reported deal between Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers is monumental as the talented tight end is being paid more like a wide receiver, reportedly getting five years, $75 million. Hooper's deal is worth $42 million over four years. That's a 30 percent difference on yearly basis along with an extra year.
Kittle is set to earn $2.2 million in 2020 before the new deal is actually set to start in 2021. Jarvis Landry's agent should take a victory lap. Landry's deal, which was signed in 2018, is worth $75.5 million over five years.
This also helps to showcase how underpaid tight ends are. Even a game changing contract with arguably the best in the league still doesn't match the top receivers in the league or Landry.
This highlights the value of signing tight ends like Austin Hooper, even though he was signing as the highest paid contract in the league at the time. He's making far less than either Odell Beckham and Landry, despite the fact that so many of the best offenses in the league have a great tight end, many of which are contenders for the Super Bowl.
This also highlights the fact that if David Njoku is great, the Browns can easily afford to extend him and keep Hooper. Kittle's deal is likely an anomaly. Tight ends should get paid more, but as long as they don't, it's in a team's best interest to keep investing in that position. They are incredibly difficult to account for and defend, working well under the salary cap.
