Agent's Take: Why NFL tight ends have been left behind by contract boom, plus 3 stars who could reset market
The 2026 league year, which began on March 11, has been great financially for most major offensive positions. Patrick Mahomes became the first quarterback to break the $60 million-per-year barrier. Jaxon Smith-Njigba topped Ja'Marr Chase as the NFL's highest-paid wide receiver . Saquon Barkley dropped to fourth on the running back pay scale, with Jahmyr Gibbs , who now leads the way, Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor joining him in the $20 million-per-year club last week. Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil's contract extension made him the first and only $30 million-per-year offensive lineman. Peter Skoronski just established a new benchmark for offensive guards at $25 million per year. It may be short-lived if the Indianapolis Colts sign Quenton Nelson , who is in a contract year, to a new deal. The most shocking development has been Tyler Linderbaum resetting the center market by a whopping 50% when he signed a three-year, $81 million contract averaging $27 million per year with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. Tight ends are the exception to this offensive salary boom. A career-high 88 receptions, nearly 1,000 receiving yards and a second-team All-Pro selection in 2025, leading to a franchise tag, weren't enough for Kyle Pitts to move the needle for tight ends . His three-year, $53 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons in June made him the NFL's third-highest-paid tight end at $17,666,667 per year. Pitts did establish a new tight end record with $36 million fully guaranteed at signing. A stagnant tight end market isn't anything new. Jimmy Graham became the league's first $10 million-per-year tight end in 2014 when he signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the New Orleans Saints as a franchise player. The mark wasn't eclipsed until 2020, when Austin Hooper got a four-year, $42 million deal averaging $10.5 million per year from the Cleveland Browns as an unrestricted free agent. The massive reset came later in 2020 during training camp. George Kittle signed a five-year, $75 million contract extension averaging $15 million per year with the San Francisco 49ers . Travis Kelce quickly followed suit with a team-friendly four-year, $57.25 million extension averaging $14,312,500 per year from the Kansas City Chiefs . Six years later, the tight end market has yet to hit the $20 million-per-year mark. Kittle is currently the highest-paid tight end with the backloaded four-year, $76.4 million extension averaging $19.1 million per year that he signed with the 49ers in April 2025. There's $22.4 million in Kittle's 2029 contract year, when he will be 36. The first three new years of Kittle's extension average $18 million per year. Kittle's deal came about a month after Trey McBride signed a four-year, $76 million extension averaging $19 million per year with the Arizona Cardinals . The first three new years of McBride's extension average $19,333,333 per year. McBride's $43 million in overall guarantees are the most ever for a tight end. There's a big drop-off in tight end salaries after Kittle, McBride and Pitts. Isaiah Likely is next at $13,333,333 per year. The three-year, $40 million deal Likely signed with the New York Giants is worth a maximum of $47.2 million through incentives. It wasn't too long ago that nearly three times as many tight ends as today were making $13.5 million per year or more. Eight tight ends on multiyear contracts were above that mark in 2023. A subset of the overall tight end market has reached new heights in 2026. Charlie Kolar became the first blocking tight end to eclipse the $8 million-per-year mark when he signed a three-year, $24.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers during free agency in March. Darnell Washington took blocking tight end salaries to an unprecedented level in June. He received a four-year, $42 million extension from the Pittsburgh Steelers , making him the first blocking tight end to reach the $10 million-per-year mark. The gap between the highest-paid tight en [... truncated ...]
