If you want a detailed chronicling of the contract extension negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and tight end George Kittle's agent, Jack Bechta, head over the NFL.com and read the feature by Mike Silver. There are a lot of interesting notes in the breakdown of what occurred after the 49ers' initial offer, which came on Valentine's Day.
Bechta referred to that first offer as "The Valentine's Day Massacre" because it was so insulting.
"I'm not even showing this to George, to help protect you guys," Bechta told 49ers contract negotiator and EVP of football operations Paraag Marathe. "Get back to me when you get serious."
What followed was a lot of back-and-forth separated by significant breaks in communications, for various reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic.
Silver reports that by the end of July, right after Kittle had been ranked No. 7 in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020, the tight end grew frustrated with the process.
"Expressing his frustration was trickier than usual," wrote Silver. "In a normal offseason, Kittle might well have registered his displeasure with his contract situation by skipping some or all of OTAs, or perhaps a voluntary minicamp. Since all activities were virtual, however, boycotting them from afar wasn't as effective of a protest as it otherwise might be, and Kittle chose to participate."
It also wasn't in Kittle's nature to skip out on anything football related.
"[Staying away] would have been a very hard decision for him," Bechta said. "He loves the offseason -- he loves every aspect of football -- and he takes his role as a captain very seriously."
As Kittle's and his agent's frustrations grew, a new option emerged. NFL players were being allowed to opt-out of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. That, however, was never seriously considered by the tight end.
"We definitely talked about it, but it was never a real option, because of the principle, the spirit of what it was there for," Bechta said. "It's for people who potentially are in danger and are protecting their family, and we didn't think it was fair to use it as a tool. In the end we decided, it's not who we are."
In the end, things worked out. The 49ers signed Kittle to a five-year, $75 million extension on Friday, making him the highest-paid tight end in football.
"Now, I'm taken care of, and my family's taken care of," Kittle told reporters on Saturday. "Now, I can just focus on that. I don't have to worry about money. I don't have to worry about anything else. I can just go out there and play football and run through someone's face, and I'm really excited about that."
And that report from Sports Illustrated that the 49ers were set to offer Kittle a six-year, $94.8 million extension, that was news to Marathe and Bechta. Both were said to be stunned by the report.
"We both said, 'What the f--- is this?'" Bechta said.
Silver explains that neither side had seriously discussed a six-year extension. Bechta had been fighting for a four-year deal.
Adds Silver: "The numbers in the SI.com report were also wrong: $30 million was guaranteed at signing (including an $18 million signing bonus), with $40 million guaranteed for injury."
Click here to read Silver's lengthy feature over at NFL.com.
