George Kittle Contract details (Getty Images)
George Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers agreed to a four-year, $76.4 million extension in April 2025, and it runs through 2029. The deal carries $40 million in guarantees and pays $19.1 million a year, the most of any tight end at that point. Kittle was 31 and one year from the end of his old contract. Four years, $76.4 million, $19.1 million per year. Of the $40 million guaranteed, $35 million came at signing.
Then came a hamstring injury, a torn Achilles in January and a fast comeback this fall. Together, they show what the 49ers actually bought. The numbers are simple. That protects a little over half the money, which is solid but not the loudest figure on the market.
It extended the five-year, $75 million deal he signed in 2020. It also ties him to San Francisco through his age-36 season. Arizona’s Trey McBride signed a four-year, $76 million extension in early April 2025, with $43 million guaranteed and a $19 million average. Kittle passed that average by $100,000, about a month later. His guarantee is $3 million higher than Kittle’s $40 million. McBride was 25 and coming off a 111-catch season. Kittle was 31 and the team knew it, so the 49ers paid for the name and the past while protecting a little less of the future. One month is not a verdict, and a 33-year-old tight end coming off Achilles surgery is a real risk. Still, the guarantee that looked generous in April 2025 now looks like a fair price for a player who beat the usual timeline.
Because younger tight ends keep arriving, neither deal will hold the top spot for long,. George Kittle revealed the deal himself on the podcast Bussin’ With The Boys, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed it.
“Third contract, same football team, great foundation, great organization,” he said. Kittle’s crown was thinner than it looks. Look closer and McBride still wins one category. That gap is the market pricing age. Kittle has three seasons left on the deal to prove the 49ers right, and so far he is on pace.