49ers sign George Kittle to four-year extension, extending his team legacy

SANTA CLARA George Kittle s days as the the majority prolific tight end in ers history are now numbered through at least Kittle a league source substantiated has agreed to a four-year extension on his contract which was set to expire after the season The million deal averages million per year and makes Kittle the NFL s highest-paid tight end as first revealed by Bussin With The Boys a show featuring former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan Kittle gets million guaranteed including million at signing and million in Kittle was slated to make a million base salary this season and count million against the salary cap the latter of which ranks highest among NFL tight ends However the Arizona Cardinals Trey McBride reset their field April when he agreed to a four-year contract worth million per season vaulting him ahead of Kittle Kansas City s Travis Kelce million per year and Minnesota s T J Hockenson million Make no mistake this franchise feeds off his leadership positive spirit and on-field production perhaps more than ever amid this offseason s rebound from a roster overhaul Whether or not Kittle plays his entire career with the ers a goal both he and the ers brass have declared remains to be determined That has happened with only six of their players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Jimmy Johnson Leo Nomellini Bob St Clair Dave Wilcox Bryant Young and Patrick Willis We want George to retire a Niner He s a Niner through and through We want that to become a reality general manager John Lynch commented at February s NFL scouting combine That s something we all want to see become a reality including George Kittle the seven-time captain six-time Pro Bowler and five-time AP All-Pro evidenced up Friday to work out as the ers concluded the first week of their voluntary offseason activity Kittle s deal comes as the ers are negotiating an extension with Brock Purdy before he enters the fourth and final year of his rookie contract not to mention the feasible revision of linebacker Fred Warner s contract that expires in two years Wide receiver Jauan Jennings and right tackle Colton McKivitz are the only other sure-fire starters entering the final year of their respective contracts Kittle trails Terrell Owens by catches and yards for the No spots in ers receiving lore behind Jerry Rice catches yards Hopefully I can eventually catch T O Kittle declared before last season s home finale against the Detroit Lions I don t think I ll ever catch Jerry Rice on anything but that s totally fine I m OK with that I don t think I want to play that long Kittle turns on Oct about three weeks before the NFL s so-called National Tight Ends Day celebration the fourth Sunday of October that was sparked by Kittle and then-teammates tight end Garrett Celek and Jimmy Garoppolo in Kittle led all ers receivers last season with catches yards and eight touchdowns He is the only tight end in ers history to reach the -yard mark doing so in and That matches Tony Gonzalez Rob Gronkowski and Jason Witten as the only NFL tight ends to do so four times behind Kelce s seven straight seasons - I m just very excited I got to spend eight years with the San Francisco ers hopefully will continue to play here because it s a storied franchise Kittle noted Friday when appealed about his place among NFL all-time time ends Related Articles ers depth chart New-look defense dotted with top draft picks ers depth chart Is offense too familiar around Purdy McCaffrey Former er Dre Greenlaw is hurt again although severity is in dispute ers add six undrafted free agents still no offensive tackles Son of former ers LB Ulbrich admits to prank call to Shedeur Sanders Kittle is entering his ninth season and technically has bragging rights as the longest-tenured member on the ers roster His close friend fullback Kyle Juszczyk was published March and spent a week exploring free agency before re-signing to a two-year deal Kittle disclosed four months ago he planned to play until the wheels fall off or until my wife tells me to stop playing Since then Kittle has enhanced his global presence as a superstar between accepting the Salute to Institution Award at NFL Honors on Feb before the Super Bowl in New Orleans and more not long ago enjoying ring-side life at WrestleMania in Las Vegas He has taken side trips to Manhattan and Montana and gone international from Mexico to Canada to France He has also hosted teammates at his offseason home and practice field in a Nashville suburb Come this season he could be sent on more receiving routes with fewer pass-blocking duties courtesy of the ers other big financial move thus far this offseason the signing of free agent Luke Farrell three years million Kittle is really good in pass protection but you don t invariably want to use a guy in pass protection when he s really good in routes and everything coach Kyle Shanahan revealed at last month s NFL owners meeting So having another tight end with the length to block defensive ends is key You can double-team inside guys with him and get somebody like Kittle out in routes His out way from the ers Contractually it won t come until after