George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
John Lynch and the 49ers must be smart in their ongoing contract talks with All-Pro TE George Kittle
Sooner or later, the San Francisco 49ers will have to open up their pocketbooks and shell out some serious dough for superstar tight end George Kittle. Inarguably one of the best tight end options out there, reports are started to fly in regarding a future deal for the Pro-Bowl talent.
But, just how much will it take for San Francisco to lock him in as a top target for Jimmy Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan’s offense? He’ll surely have to be paid as the top tight end in the game, but per his agent, it doesn’t look like that alone will do the trick.
“He’s a unicorn. He’s one of a kind.”
George Kittle’s agent tells @MaioccoNBCS that the 49ers tight end deserves a “special contract.” https://t.co/AhpRurL1my pic.twitter.com/9pqemBsH7b
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) June 2, 2020
Those feel like the words of a man who is ready to do whatever it takes to make sure his client gets every penny out of the 49ers. The phrasing “special contract” tells you San Francisco will need to go above and beyond what top tight end money might be.
Will George Kittle’s contract demands cripple the 49ers?
There’s no arguing Kittle deserves to get a monster extension.
He’s coming off an All-Pro campaign for San Francisco in 2019. For the season, the 6-4, 250-pounder caught 85 balls for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns. Behind his brilliance, the SF offense was truly able to take a big step forward in 2019. With Garoppolo consistently feeding him the rock, the two became quite the duo in the NFC.
So much in fact, the 49ers cruised to the Super Bowl and nearly stunned the Kansas City Chiefs. The way this team is built, they’ll compete for more trips to the SB in the coming years. However, the last thing fans want is any kind of drama surrounding Kittle and contract talks. We’ve seen how those issues can affect a locker room (we’re looking at you Dallas).
George Kittle is worth a groundbreaking contract. But one snag on the 49ers’ end is they know after him Fred Warner will need top-5 ILB money; Sherm, Tomlinson, McGlinchey & Juszczyk need to be re-upped; and Nick Bosa at some point will be the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player.
— Fourth and Nine (@fourth_nine) May 30, 2020
John Lynch will be working overtime this offseason trying to make his stars happy. He knows he’ll have to pay Kittle, but looking at the big picture, he also needs to be wise with just how much he gives him because of the other extensions he’ll have to get done.
We’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out.