Projecting George Kittle's Next Contract After Trey McBride's Historic $76M Extension

The Arizona Cardinals and tight end Trey McBride have agreed to an historic four-year, $76 million extension, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, who relayed the news from the third-year pro's representation at Wasserman.

McBride will also get $32.5 million in fully guaranteed money, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

That contract is the richest for a tight end all-time, surpassing the five-year, $75 million that San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle signed in 2020.

Speaking of which, Kittle's contract is due to expire after the 2025 season. Per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, the 49ers are looking to get a contract extension done with Kittle.

That makes sense for a few reasons. First, Kittle currently counts for $22 million against the 2025 cap, per Over the Cap, so a new deal could give the 49ers some relief on that front.

"It's always been until the wheels fall off," Kittle said. "Or until my wife tells me to stop playing, which I'll trust her on that one."

Second, Kittle turns 32 years old in October, but there's plenty of reason to believe he still has something left in the tank. He just enjoyed a great season, catching 78 passes for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns despite missing two games with hamstring injuries.

He also has the desire to keep playing, as noted by ESPN's Nick Wagoner.

"It's always been until the wheels fall off," Kittle said. "Or until my wife tells me to stop playing, which I'll trust her on that one."

Kittle also wants to be a 49er for life, a sentiment he's expressed multiple times.

“I said it yesterday, I want to be a Niner for my entire career,” Kittle said after the season ended, per Joaquin Ruiz of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I love wearing the Red and Gold. And, whatever the front office wants to do, I’m all ears.”

As far as a potential extension goes, one can look to McBride's contract for clues. He just reset the tight end market at $19 million per season. Kittle is fourth at $15 million per year.

Kittle just earned Associated Press All-Pro second team honors behind Las Vegas Raiders rookie Brock Bowers, who just dominated the league with 112 catches, 1,194 yards and five scores.

As far as yearly value goes, one can surmise that Kittle should be surpassing McBride's amount, as David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard wrote.

Look for the 49ers and Kittle agree on a yearly value beating McBride's figure.

As far as contract length goes, this is a subjective enterprise, but the guess here is the 49ers and Kittle agree on three more years, taking the tight end into the 2028 season, when he turns 35 years old.

Kittle's production is tremendous, and he's shown no signs of slowing down. A four-year extension on top of the 2025 season might be a bit long into the back half of his 30s. That being said, Kittle has shown he's certainly deserving of millions in guarantees.

The projection here is for Kittle's contract to beat McBride's numbers on that front. Yes, it's a lot of guaranteed money for a tight end into his 30s, but Kittle is a special talent who's been tremendous in the pass game and run game (as a blocker). He's also a team leader and was an integral part of two NFC title teams.

They'll need his talents even more with the 49ers moving on from wide receiver Deebo Samuel via trade to the Washington Commanders, so it behooves them to lock in Kittle,

Final projection: 3-year, $60 million contract ($33 million fully guaranteed, $45 million guaranteed overall)