NFL Trade Rumors
The 49ers signed TE George Kittle to a four-year contract extension as he was entering the final year of his deal this year. In a recent interview on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, Kittle indicated he plans to try to keep playing for most of that deal.
He added as long as he’s still having fun and performing at a high level, as determined by the honest assessment of his wife, he wants to keep playing.
“Literally until I don’t have fun anymore,” Kittle said via NFL Media. “Or if Claire looks at me and goes, ‘You kinda look like s–t out there, you should retire.’ I’ll be like, ‘ All right.’
“I don’t know, I think if I get to 35 and it hurts to put pants on in the morning, I think I’ll be like, ‘Ah, this isn’t that much fun anymore,’ and I’ll have a conversation with myself. But I’m feeling great right now.”
Kittle definitely has picked up his share of nicks over the years and has the injury history you’d expect for a soon-to-be-32-year-old tight end. However, he said the silver lining of the 49ers’ disappointing 2024 season in which they missed the playoffs was that he got a ton of extra time to recover this offseason.
“The one benefit of not making the playoffs is you get an entire month off,” Kittle said. “I haven’t had January off since 2020. “…Mentally and physically, I’m light-years ahead of where I was the last two years, which is pretty fun.”
The 49ers reportedly got offered a second-round pick to trade Kittle this offseason, but obviously they’re confident he can be a big part of their future as well.
Kittle, 31, is a former fifth-round pick of the 49ers out of Iowa back in 2017. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $2.69 million contract and set to make a base salary of $735,000 in 2020 when he agreed to a new five-year, $75 million extension with the 49ers.
Kittle finished up the fourth year of his deal and made a salary of $13,400,000 in 2024. He was headed into a contract year in 2025 when he signed a four-year, $76.4 million extension.
In 2024, Kittle appeared in 15 games for the 49ers and caught 78 passes for 1,106 yards receiving and eight touchdowns.
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