49ers reportedly signing George Kittle to a $94.8 million extension

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly signing George Kittle to a six-year, $94.8 million extension.

George Kittle will be remaining with the San Francisco 49ers for a long, long time.

If reports are to be believed, the 49ers are on the verge of signing their star tight end to a massive six-year, $94.8 million extension that the team will announce this coming Friday.

The first to report the apparent extension was Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn who reported that Kittle’s contract will be worth around $15.8 million per year making him far and away the highest-paid tight end in the league.

Currently, Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers is set to make $10.61 million on the franchise tag this year, but Austin Hooper’s four-year, $42 million contract is the largest in terms of guaranteed money.

Kittle’s deal will reportedly blow each of those out of the water.

Cohn reports that $47.4 million — or half — of Kittle’s extension will be guaranteed and it will be structured in a way so that Kittle will only account for roughly $10 million of the 2021 cap.

On paper, he will earn slightly less per year than the likes of Arik Armstead on Dee Ford, but his near-$50 million in guarantees is more than any other 49ers player with the expectation of Jimmy Garoppolo.

The 49ers reportedly paid George Kittle what he was worth.

Simply put, it’s hard to argue that Kittle doesn’t deserve this.

The former fifth-round pick is arguably the best tight end in football and his numbers and on-field impact over the last two years provide proof of that.

Kittle recorded his second consecutive season in which he totaled 85-plus catches and over 1,000 receiving yards. That was despite missing two games due to an injury.

On top of his receiving production, Kittle has proved instrumental to the dominant 49ers’ ground game serving as a sixth offensive lineman of sorts leading the way for guys like Raheem Mostert to have career years.

He is the most complete tight end in the NFL today, perhaps in NFL history. And now his contract reflects that.

Kittle isn’t just being paid elite tight end money — he’s being paid as a Pro Bowl receiver. And at the end of the day, that’s what he wanted.

The 49ers found a way to make it work and fans can now rejoice at the fact that their fan-favorite tight end is now under contract for more than half a decade.

*Note: George Kittle has since refuted this claim — take this report with a grain of salt*