George Kittle Wants To Raise The Tight End Market: ‘Everybody Gets Paid’

San Francisco’s George Kittle wants to raise the value, market, and salaries of tight ends in the NFL. How does Kittle plan to keep pushing the tight-end market forward?

George Kittle Talks Tight End Makret

Kittle spoke with Dan Patrick on Monday’s The Dan Patrick Show to promote Tight End University, a three-day program where the best tight ends can gather to participate in drills, film study, and more.

Kittle cofounded Tight End U with Travis Kelce and Greg Olsen in 2021.

During the interview, Patrick asked about the franchise tag and how tight ends have been fighting to increase their average salaries.

Kittle said they spend a portion of Tight End U talking about the finances of football. The 49ers star wants every tight end to get paid because it will increase the market for years to come.

“The only way for the tight end market to continue to grow is if everybody’s getting paid,” Kittle told Patrick. “That’s the only way to do it. You can’t just have one guy do it and then it just sits for four years because then you’re stuck and it’s stagnant and no one’s getting paid. We want everybody, I want everybody to have great seasons. I want everybody to have great games, just not against the 49ers.

“Throughout the rest of the season, they can play as well as they want to because I want guys to get paid, to keep bumping up that market so by the time that Brock Bowers is doing his contract in three years, he’s going for over $20 million, which he will. That’s just the whole point.”

Kittle believes the versatility of tight ends is something every team needs. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, the two teams that played in Super Bowl LIX, utilized talented tight ends like Kelce and Dallas Goedert.

The tight end is an integral position to the success of an offense, and Kittle wants them to be paid as such.

“When Tight End U started, I think the top of the market was 15 (million dollars), and now we’re almost at 20,” Kittle explained. “So we’re continually growing it. As a tight end and as a position who does everything, yeah, I think we should be making more money, but we’re working on it.”

NFL’s Highest-Paid Tight Ends

BREAKING: George Kittle signs extension with 49ers per Bussin’ With The Boys

4 years, $76.4M ($19.1M/year)
$40M total guaranteed ($35M at signing + $5M in ‘27)

Please credit The Boys properly @bussinwtb, @_willcompton, @TaylorLewan77 pic.twitter.com/Pwfmf643vq

— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) April 29, 2025

It’s been a record-breaking offseason for tight ends.

In April, Arizona and Trey McBride agreed to a four-year, $76 million contract extension, including $43 million guaranteed. McBride’s average annual salary of $19 million was the highest in the league for tight ends.

McBride held the title of highest-paid tight end for a little less than a month before the Tight End U co-founder signed his new deal.

Kittle and the 49ers agreed to a four-year, 76.4 million contract extension.

Kittle passed McBride as the highest-paid tight end in the NFL at $19.1 million per year.

Like Kittle teased, a tight end will one day make over $20 million annually.