Prior to Tuesday, there were no tight ends in the NFL who were on multi-year contracts that averaged between $19 million per year and $13.3 million per year. As you can imagine, that was a pretty significant gap in the market for teams, players and representation to operate in.
Then, Kyle Pitts signed a three-year, $54 million contract ($18 million per year), and now Brenton Strange has signed a three-year, $48 million ($16 million per year) deal.
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft, who was having
a career year before he tore his ACL in 2025, was always probably going to get money in the George Kittle ($19.1 million per) or Trey McBride ($19 million per) range, but the recent extensions of Pitts and Strange have certainly set a floor for his market. For perspective, Isaiah Likely, who was only a part-time player with the Baltimore Ravens, signed a $13.3 million per year deal with the New York Giants, where former Ravens coach John Harbaugh is now running the show, this free agency cycle.
For years, the tight end market has lagged behind other positions in terms of wage increases, but the position is finally starting to see some movement.
On the Packers’ end, there probably isn’t any huge reason for urgency to get a Kraft deal done in the immediate future, as the only other major tight end left on an expiring contract going into 2026 is the Detroit Lions’ Sam LaPorta. Unless LaPorta signs a deal that significantly resets the tight end market before the Packers can ink a contract with Kraft, timing shouldn’t be a big deal, as long as they get a contract done with the tight end before the season ends.
Over the long haul, players’ wages increase at every position in the NFL. It’s just worth noting that this week, specifically, has been a period in which the arrowing is trending upward for tight ends.
We should also mention that the Packers tend to sign young starters to four-year extensions, compared to the three-year deals that Pitts and Strange have signed, and generally give low guarantees (usually just a bigger signing bonus and the first year’s salary) on their contract, so don’t be surprised if Kraft’s extension eventually ends up having a high APY over four years with relatively low guarantees compared to some of these deals.
