The Kyle Pitts era with the Atlanta Falcons will continue.
Pitts signed a three-year, $54 million contract extension with the Falcons on Tuesday, becoming one of the highest-paid tight ends in the NFL. The deal has a guarantee of $36 million dollars over the next two years. Pitts, who was a unanimous All-American for the Florida Gators in 2020, was given the franchise tag by the Falcons after the season and was going to play on a one-year deal valued at over $15 million, but now that tag will be replaced with this contract that only puts him behind San Francisco's George Kittle and Arizona's Trey McBride.
Highest paid TEs in per year average:
🏈George Kittle: $19.1M
🏈Trey McBride: $19M
🏈Kyle Pitts: $18M
🏈Isaiah Likely: $13.333M
🏈Mark Andrews: $13.089M https://t.co/yrquZlXCfY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 23, 2026
Former Gator TE Kyle Pitts gets huge contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons
Pitts, who was selected by the Falcons with the 4th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, has had a bit of a checkered run in Atlanta. At times, he's shown the ability to be great and play at an All-Pro level, but the consistency hasn't always been there. It's not all Pitts' fault because the quarterback situation and the overall offense under former coaches Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris have underachieved. The expectations are that things will be different under new coach Kevin Stefanski and if there was any question about how much the organization is committed to Pitts, this contract should answer that for a couple of years.
"I think Kyle is going to be a big piece of this thing," offensive pass game coordinator Tanner Engstrandsaid to team reporter Tori McElhaney."He had huge production last year. He's clearly one of the top guys in the league at that spot. Hopefully, we see a lot more of what we saw last year out of him, and he can continue on that upward trend."
Pitts had a standout rookie season, catching 68 passes for 1,028 yards for an excellent 15.1 yards per catch. The Falcons couldn't get him the ball in the red zone, however, as Pitts finished the 2021 season with just one touchdown. Pitts' touchdown numbers improved by one in each of the three following years, but the overall production went down significantly. Last season, Pitts was fighting for a contract and bounced back with a career-high 88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns. Atlanta, who fired Morris after the season, opted for a wait-and-see approach by putting the tag on Pitts. However, Pitts quickly found a connection with Stefanski and the new staff and the Falcons were able to secure the 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end for the next few years.
"It's kind of like my fifth-year option, but it's a sixth-year option," Pitts said about the extension. "It's a blessing to be able to get that year without saying go test the market. They trusted that they see something in (me), and that's pretty cool to see."
Pitts was a superstar in Gainesville and is arguably the best tight end to ever suit up for the Gators. He had 100 catches for 1,492 yards and 18 touchdowns in 32 games over three seasons at Florida. Pitts had 43 catches for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns in the abbreviated 2020 season, winning the John Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end. Because he's only 25 years old and won't be 26 until the middle of the season, Pitts' best football is still to come, and this move should excite Falcons fans everywhere.
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