{"id":10224,"date":"2025-04-29T16:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/10224\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T16:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:57:10","slug":"george-kittle-surpasses-trey-mcbride-as-highest-paid-te","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/10224\/","title":{"rendered":"George Kittle surpasses Trey McBride as highest-paid TE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, that was fast.<\/p>\n

Less than a month \u2014 26 days to be exact \u2014 after Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride became the highest-paid tight end in NFL history<\/a> behind a four-year, $76 million contract extension, there\u2019s a new placeholder for the top spot:<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle.<\/p>\n

As first reported by The Bussin\u2019 With The Boys podcast<\/a>, Kittle put pen to paper on a four-year, $76.4 million deal on Tuesday. That includes $40 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n

How Trey McBride\u2019s contract extension compares to George Kittle\u2019s new deal<\/p>\n

The numbers are close, but Kittle reportedly holds the slight edge in average yearly earnings<\/a> by $100,000.<\/p>\n

McBride, however, saw $43 million in guaranteed money compared to Kittle\u2019s mark.<\/p>\n

Either way, a couple of tight ends got paid this offseason. And for good reason.<\/p>\n

McBride is coming off a career year where he paced the team with 111 catches (surpassing his franchise record of 81 catches) and 1,146 yards. He added two receiving touchdowns, a rushing score and fumble recovery TD.<\/p>\n

On top of his ability as a pass catcher, McBride also took a step forward as a run blocker.<\/p>\n

Cardinals TE Trey McBride, who is searching for his first receiving TD of the season, doesn’t need to find the end zone to make an impact (or get paid).<\/p>\n

Head coach Jonathan Gannon explains: pic.twitter.com\/dYAgrcEDM5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 16, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a huge playmaker for us,\u201d head coach Jonathan Gannon said in Decemeber. \u201cA lot of the passing game goes through him. The run game, he\u2019s fantastic. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery play he\u2019s out there, he\u2019s max effort and he\u2019s an impact player. He really is. I\u2019m really proud of his maturation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kittle, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Since 2021, the tight end has caught at least six touchdowns, highlight by a career-high 11 scores in 2022.<\/p>\n

Who are the top-paid tight ends in the NFL?<\/p>\n

A look at the top 5 tight ends in terms of yearly earnings, according to Spotrac:<\/p>\n

1. San Francisco\u2019s George Kittle ($19.1 million)
2. Arizona\u2019s Trey McBride ($19 million)
3. Kansas City\u2019s Travis Kelce ($17.125 million)
4. Minnesota\u2019s T.J. Hockensen ($16.5 million)
5. Philadelphia\u2019s Dallas Goedert ($14.25 million)<\/p>\n

Follow @Tdrake4sports<\/a><\/p>\n

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