Who Are the Highest Paid Tight Ends in NFL This Season?

Having a sure-handed tight end to work in the middle of the field is invaluable as teams often turn to young quarterbacks to help them push for the playoffs.

Quarterbacks still get the big bucks. Tight ends are also making an impact when it comes to the NFL player salaries by position. Kelce, George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Goedert of the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson, and Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens are the tight ends leading the way.

The first three names on that list have played in the Super Bowl, and Kelce and Goedert have won Super Bowl rings.

Let’s look closer at the salaries for NFL tight ends and check out who leads the way among the highest-paid NFL tight ends. The teams with the best NFL betting odds typically have a productive tight end on the roster.

Breaking Down NFL Tight Ends’ Salaries

With Kelce holding off retirement and opting to play for at least one more season, he is among the highest-paid NFL tight ends. He is set to earn $17.125 million, the highest annual salary among tight ends. Kittle has the highest contract value of $75 million, and Hockenson’s contract included more than $40 million in guaranteed money. Goedert is responsible for 7.8% of the salary cap for the Eagles, the highest percentage for a tight end.

There are some surprises when looking at the money being given out to tight ends. Taysom Hill of the New Orleans Saints has the third-highest cap hit of nearly $18 million among tight ends, trailing only Kittle and Kelce. The most money guaranteed at signing went to Kyle Pitts of the Atlanta Falcons. He joins Andrews and Kittle as the tight ends who received at least $30 million in guaranteed money when they signed their latest contracts. Pitts has some work to do to be considered among the NFL’s top tight ends.

Nobody expects the next wave of rookies to approach the numbers Bowers had for the Raiders during the 2024 NFL season. However, some college stars could make an immediate impact in the upcoming season.

Penn State’s Tyler Warren is a potential top-10 pick in some mock drafts. Michigan’s Colston Loveland and Miami’s Elijah Arroyo are among the other tight ends who could be taken in the first round.

Gesicki, Johnson Staying Put

There was some movement in free agency at the tight end position.

Mike Gesicki re-signed with the Cincinnati Bengals for $25.5 million over three years. The Denver Broncos landed Evan Engram with a two-year deal worth $23 million. Juwan Johnson stayed with the New Orleans Saints after agreeing to a three-year, $30.75 million contract extension. The Saints have two of the top-paid tight ends.

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