Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs entered this offseason as the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, but two new players overtook his average annual value of $17.1 million over the last two months. Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals signed a four-year, $76 million extension in early April, then George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers came back around and signed a four-year, $76.4 million extension that made him the new highest-paid tight end in the league.
McBride held the crown for a measly three weeks, but as it turns out, he’s rooting for every tight end to cash in. It’s good for the position, and good for his future as a 25-year-old player as well.
“I think it was great that I had the title at one point and that was obviously a huge milestone for me and everything just to be the highest paid at my position at the time, and I thought that was really cool,” McBride said this week on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo. “Obviously, George is much deserving of that and I’m very excited for him.
“I would love for someone to jump him and everyone just keep jumping each other and the tight ends make a ton of money. So that’s what I’m pulling for but obviously very excited for George.”
Current highest-paid TEs
In his third NFL season, McBride caught 111 passes for 1,146 yards and two touchdowns. His 111 receptions marked the fourth-most recorded by a tight end in NFL history, and his 1,146 receiving yards were the second-most recorded by a tight end in franchise history. The 31-year-old Kittle has long been one of the best tight ends in the NFL, and he recorded his fourth 1,000-yard receiving campaign in 2024. Just five tight ends have ever crossed 1,000 yards receiving four times.
Who should McBride have his eye on to reset the tight end market in the near future? Let’s take a look at two candidates.
Sam LaPorta (24), Detroit Lions
LaPorta will be eligible for a contract extension following the 2025 season, and he’s definitely a candidate to surpass Kittle’s $19.1 million AAV. In his first NFL season, the Iowa product set a rookie tight end record by catching 86 passes, and he turned those 86 receptions into 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. No other tight end caught more than six touchdowns during that 2023 season. LaPorta did see his production dip in 2024, catching 60 passes for 726 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games played, but he fought through several injuries such as an ankle sprain and shoulder injury. Still, at just 24 years old, LaPorta is viewed as a top five tight end entering 2025.
Brock Bowers (22), Las Vegas Raiders
LaPorta set a rookie tight end record by catching 86 passes in 2023, but Bowers shattered that record in 2024 by catching 112 passes for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. Those 1,194 receiving yards broke Mike Ditka’s rookie record of 1,076 yards which he set back in 1961! Bowers was touted as a versatile pass catcher coming out of the University of Georgia, and he somehow exceeded the hype in his first NFL season. To put his production in perspective, Bowers’ 70.2 receiving yards per game were more than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, DK Metcalf, Garrett Wilson and Terry McLaurin averaged in 2024.
Bowers will have to wait two more seasons until he’s eligible for a contract extension, but if 2024 was any indicator, Bowers should reset the market one day.
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