San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is entering the final season of his rookie deal, but it doesn't sound like there's been a lot of progress on a new contract.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (h/t Josh Schrock of NBCS Bay Area), the defending NFC Champions and Kittle have held contract talks, but the feeling is that they aren't "particularly close on anything."
Rapoport explained that the market for the position "hasn't moved" ever since Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce signed long-term deals. The former signed a six-year, $54 million deal with the New England Patriots back in 2012. As for Kelce, he signed a five-year extension worth $46 million back in 2016.
Both Gronk and Kelce went on to outplay their contracts by wide margins. But since they've been locked in on long-term deals, neither guy has been able to reset the market on a more lucrative contract. That doesn't bode well for Kittle.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch have received long-term extensions, leading Rapoport to wonder when Kittle will get his new deal, since the team "always takes care of its core players."
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Per Spotrac.com, Los Angeles Chargers standout Hunter Henry has the highest base salary among all tight ends for 2020 at $10.607 million, followed by Gronkowski ($9 million) and Kelce ($8 million).
There are only so many legitimate game-changing tight ends in today's NFL, but Kittle is on another level. In 2018, he set the single season record for receiving yards by a tight end 1,377. He followed it up with 1,053 yards in 2019, helping the 49ers reach Super Bowl LIV - where they ultimately fell to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Even though the two sides supposedly aren't close on a deal, one has to think that this will get sorted. Kittle is one of the game's elite offensive players, and the 49ers' need him if they want to contend for championships over the long run.
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