The Atlanta Falcons have reached agreement with tight end Kyle Pitts on a three-year contract worth $54 million, including $36 million fully guaranteed, the team announced. The deal was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, who described it as "the largest three-year contract for a tight end in NFL history."
The terms
The package carries an average annual value of $18 million, which makes Pitts the third-highest-paid tight end in the league by that measure, behind the San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle (about $19.1 million) and the Arizona Cardinals' Trey McBride (about $19 million), according to ESPN and CBS Sports.
The agreement supersedes the franchise tag Atlanta had placed on Pitts earlier in 2026, a one-year tender valued at roughly $15 million. Rather than play a single season under the tag, Pitts secures the larger, multi-year guarantee.
A top-five pick finds his footing
Pitts was the No. 4 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Florida, an unusually high pick for a tight end. He delivered immediately, posting 1,026 receiving yards as a rookie and earning a Pro Bowl selection following the 2021 season.
His production then dipped over the following seasons amid quarterback changes and offensive inconsistency in Atlanta, fueling periodic speculation that he could be traded. He rebounded in 2025, setting career highs with 88 catches for 928 receiving yards and five touchdowns, totals that ranked among the best at his position and strengthened his negotiating position, ESPN reported.
What it means
For Atlanta, locking up Pitts removes a year-to-year question and signals a commitment to building its passing offense around him. For the wider tight-end market, the deal continues an upward trend in pay at a position long undervalued relative to wide receivers, placing Pitts alongside Kittle and McBride at the top of the position's earners.
