Once every year, the San Francisco 49ers‘ tight end, George Kittle, reminds the league that tight ends are underpaid in the NFL. He did that back in June 2025 during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, stating that the only way for the TEs to continue to grow “is if everybody’s getting paid.” Now, he’s back at it. Only this time, Kittle finally made it clear how much the position should be paid annually.

“There’s number three wide receivers who get 30 catches a year that are getting over $20 million,” Kittle said during his recent appearance on the New Heights Podcast with Jason Kelce, and fellow Tight End University founder, Travis Kelce. “I think the tight end who plays like 50 snaps a game and has one target a game, he probably deserves at least $50 million. That’s just my opinion, but we’re working on it.”

Kittle also noted that over the past few years, NFL teams have increasingly relied on 12 or 13 personnel, featuring multiple tight ends on the field. Kittle’s observation is on point, though. In 2025, the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, used 12 personnel on 27.4 percent of their plays, which was the 11th highest in the league.

Meanwhile, their division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, led the NFL in 13 personnel usage in 2025, with 30.48% of their offensive snaps featuring three tight ends on the field. Now, a wide receiver’s job is to catch passes, and an offensive lineman’s job is to do both. Kittle believes that a tight end who has to do both should earn much better than what they’re making at present.

When Kittle started the Tight End University, the TE market was worth $15 million. Now, with his latest four-year, $76.4 million contract extension, it has crossed the $19 million mark. Kittle is the highest-paid at the position, followed by Trey McBride ($19 million) and Kyle Pitts ($18 million).

At the same time, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has recently reset the wide receiver market with $42.15 million per year. He’s followed by Ja’Marr Chase ($40 million) and Drake London ($35.2 million). The offensive linemen, meanwhile, are making much better than the tight ends as well. Laremy Tunsil is leading with $30.1 million. And he’s followed by Rashawn Slater ($28.5 million) and Tristan Wirfs ($28.12 million). This is why George Kittle wants his fellow tight ends to grow and reset the TE market.

“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,” Kittle said last year on The Dan Patrick Show. “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.”

For now, tight ends remain among the league’s most underpaid positions, with running backs another. It will be worth watching how Kittle’s fellow tight ends fare in negotiating their next contracts.