Kyle Pitts Just Got Paid: Falcons Hand Star Tight End a Record 3-Year, 54 Million Deal
Kyle Pitts is finally paid. And the Atlanta Falcons finally have their guy locked up long-term.
Pitts agreed to a three-year, $54 million extension with the Falcons on Tuesday, one day before the July 15 franchise tag deadline. The deal includes $36 million fully guaranteed. It is the largest three-year contract for a tight end in NFL history.
This one had been dragging on for months. Now it is done.
Pitts was the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was supposed to be the next generational tight end, a positionless matchup nightmare who would dominate the league for a decade. The reality has been messier. Injuries have slowed him. Bad quarterback play has held him back. Three head coaches in his first five years did not help.
Through it all, though, Pitts has shown flashes of exactly why the Falcons drafted him so high. He has the size, the athleticism, and the hands to be a top-three tight end when everything clicks. Atlanta bet that the clicking is coming.
The Falcons franchise-tagged him earlier this offseason at $15 million. Pitts was reportedly unhappy about it but eventually signed the tag. Both sides had until July 15 to negotiate a multi-year deal. They got it done with hours to spare.
The structure of the contract matters. Three years, $54 million, $36 million guaranteed. That is $18 million per year on average. Not quite the top of the tight end market, but very close.
Trey McBride is the current highest-paid tight end, having recently signed a four-year deal averaging $19 million per year. Pitts is now second at that position. And with a three-year term instead of four, he sets himself up for another big payday at age 28.
Falcons ownership is putting real money into their offense. Pitts joins Bijan Robinson and Drake London as the three young offensive stars locked up long-term. The quarterback situation is still messy, but the skill position group is legitimate.
Head coach Raheem Morris now has to actually get production out of these guys. Michael Penix Jr. remains the guy under center after Kirk Cousins was quietly moved out over the offseason. Penix has flashed. He needs to be more consistent. Pitts being fully healthy and motivated should help.
The Falcons also just avoided a nightmare scenario. Losing Pitts in free agency next spring would have been a franchise-altering blow. Whether or not he lives up to the fourth overall pick expectations, he is a top-five tight end when he is right. Letting him walk was never going to work.
For Pitts, this is generational money. He grew up in New Jersey. He went to Florida. He got drafted to Atlanta. Now he is a Falcon for three more years with a real shot at another big deal after that.
He also gets to prove all the doubters wrong. There have been a lot of them since 2021. Talk radio has ripped him. Fantasy football writers have declared him a bust. Even some teammates have quietly wondered about his commitment.
Nothing shuts up doubters like getting paid. Kyle Pitts just got paid. Now he has to play like the star the Falcons have always believed he could be.
Training camp opens later this month. The 2026 season is about to start writing his next chapter.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
