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San Francisco 49ers signing TE George Kittle to record extension

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has accumulated 2,945 receiving yards since entering the league as a fifth-round draft pick in 2017. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has accumulated 2,945 receiving yards since entering the league as a fifth-round draft pick in 2017. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The San Francisco 49ers and All-Pro tight end George Kittle are in agreement on a multiyear contract extension that will make him the highest-paid player at the position in league history.

League sources told ESPN, NFL Media and NBC Sports on Thursday that Kittle agreed to a five-year, $75 million deal with the 49ers. According to NFL Media, the pact includes $30 million guaranteed at signing, $40 million guaranteed for injury and an $18 million signing bonus.

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The deal surpasses the four-year, $42 million contract that Austin Hooper signed with the Cleveland Browns earlier this year and the average annual value is slightly more than the four-year, $57 million extension that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce agreed to later Thursday.

"We're just pumped to get it done," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR Radio in San Francisco on Thursday. "We were dying to get something done with a player like George. ... He's earned it. He does everything the right way.

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"It starts with how talented and good you play on Sunday. As I just said, he does that to me better than any other tight end in the league. But then after that, the way the guy takes care of himself, the way he works year round to put his body in a position to stay healthy with the way he plays, it makes you believe in the guy."

Kittle, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro choice, has accumulated 2,945 receiving yards since entering the league as a fifth-round draft pick in 2017 -- the most by any tight end in league history after three seasons. In 2018, he set the record for most receiving yards in a season by a tight end when he finished the year with 1,377.

This summer, players from around the league ranked Kittle as the seventh-best player on the NFL Top 100 list.

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