The Atlanta Falcons and tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. have come to terms on a new 3 year, $54M contract extension which will feature $36M in guaranteed money.
The deal averages out to $18M per season, and will make Pitts the 3rd highest paid TE across the NFL, trailing only George Kittle and Trey McBride. The 25 year old was preparing to play the 2026 season on a franchise tag designation which would have seen him earn just over $15M in salary. Instead, that deal now gets ripped up, with Pitts being linked to Atlanta through the 2028 season.
Pitts ranked second in the league in receptions (88) and receiving yards (928) amongst tight ends last season. Originally drafted 4th overall by the Falcons in 2021, the former Florida Gator has had an up and down career thus far due to injuries, and some rather questionable usage of him by coaches to date.
After bursting onto the NFL scene with 1,026 yards in his rookie season, he was limited to just 10 games due to injury in 2022. He then posted mediocre receiving totals of 667 yards and 602 yards the following two years, before rebounding in 2025. With new head coach Kevin Stefanski now at the helm, and the previous front office also cleared out as well, there’s reason to believe that the best is still to come from the uber-athletic pass catcher.
Atlanta had previously extended top wide receiver Drake London a few weeks prior, inking him to a 4 year, $141M contract. And there’s reason to believe that running back Bijan Robinson is next on the team’s list of offseason priorities after being named a 1st team All-Pro in 2025.
The Falcons will open up their preseason on August 14th against the Denver Broncos and will follow that up with games against the Colts and Dolphins. They’ll then kick off their 2026 campaign with a date against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 13th.
Photo: United States Army photographer Christopher Hennen (USMA). This file is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.