San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle recently signed a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension, once again becoming the NFL's highest-paid player at his position. In a recent conversation with Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area, Kittle expressed his relief that this round of negotiations wrapped up much earlier than his previous extension. In 2020, Kittle and the 49ers didn't reach an agreement until well into training camp.
While fans are thrilled to have the All-Pro tight end locked in for the foreseeable future, his extension wasn't the biggest offseason storyline. That spotlight belongs to quarterback Brock Purdy, who is eligible for a new deal and is expected to become one of the league's highest-paid players.
"The only difference is, a quarterback's contract is significantly and astronomically different than a tight end's contract," Kittle said. "Just trying to be realistic with him and trying to connect it as best I can.
"Me and Brock have a lot of things in common. Two kids that came out of — no one really had high expectations for either of us, and we both exceeded those expectations. I think he kind of took a rocket ship a little bit faster than I did. Mine was over the course of several years. His was over the course of like six games."
When asked what kind of advice he's offered Purdy, Kittle recalled a moment from his previous contract negotiation and a piece of wisdom he received from former teammate Richard Sherman.
"The first time I was going through contract negotiations in 2020, it was just a long process," Kittle said. "And he just said, 'Hey, look, contracts are like braces. You hate them, they look terrible the entire time they are doing them, but the second you get them off, you have a beautiful smile and a bag of cash, and you won't remember anything about the braces.'
"I was like, 'That was awesome.' And that is exactly how you feel about it. I was thankful to have a leader like that. Sherm gave me those tips, and as long as I can pass those down to other guys, it's very helpful."
Kittle admitted he's already passed the analogy on to Purdy, as the quarterback awaits the finalization of his own deal.
"That is a great quote," Kittle shared. "I've already used that quote on Brock ... and he likes it as well."
General manager John Lynch recently joined the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and was asked about the contract talks. While Lynch didn't divulge any new details, he remains optimistic that a deal will get done.
"What I will tell you, I can tell you, is we're having really good, positive discussions," Lynch told Simms. "When it gets done, I'm not sure. I hope sooner rather than later, but hope is not a strategy. So, we're making progress. We've had good discussions."