The Green Bay Packers have already initiated contract extension talks with standout tight end Tucker Kraft. However, his price tag may only increase the longer it takes to resolve the matter, especially if the Atlanta Falcons' Kyle Pitts gets paid first.
Pitts officially signed his franchise tag and showed up for the first day of the Falcons' 2026 offseason workout program. That locks him into a fully guaranteed one-year, $15.05 million agreement. The two sides can now negotiate off that deal or table the discussions until 2027, possibly setting up Kraft for a gargantuan payday.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently broke down the math behind Pitts potentially parlaying his situation into a four-year, $68 million pact with $35 million guaranteed. If those are the rates we're throwing out for the 2021 No. 4 overall pick, how much money will Kraft command?
Potential Kyle Pitts payday puts Packers TE Tucker Kraft's value in perspective
Yes, Pitts is a very talented player and is firmly in his prime, but there are levels to this game. For context, a $17 million annual value would make him the NFL's third-highest-paid tight end. His average salary wouldn't be much lower than that of San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals stars George Kittle and Trey McBride, respectively.
Could Kraft reset the market entirely and/or become the first player at his position to crack the $20 million mark? At the very least, he should be making more than Pitts. With that in mind, the difference between the former and the latter may be large enough to merit such a lucrative commitment.
Before tearing his ACL this past November, Kraft was well on his way to a true breakout campaign. The rising fourth-year pro was on a 1,100-plus yard, double-digit touchdown 17-game pace (excluding the contest he left early due to injury). He was more productive and efficient than Pitts in 2025, albeit in a smaller sample size, as the advanced numbers bear out.
Tucker Kraft in 2025 | Kyle Pitts in 2025 |
|---|---|
8 games | 17 games |
2.33 yards per route run (YPRR) | 1.71 yards per route run (YPRR) |
157.2 passer rating when targeted | 104.0 passer rating when targeted |
347 yards after the catch (10.8 YAC/reception) | 399 yards after the catch (4.5 YAC/reception) |
6 missed tackles forced | 9 missed tackles forced |
Not only was Kraft a markedly better receiver and one of the premier pass-catching tight ends, but he's also a plus blocker. His physicality at the line of scrimmage is a legit difference-maker for the Packers' rushing attack. The same cannot be said about Pitts, who's shown improvement in this area but has limitations.
McBride and Kittle are in a tier of their own as the top two tight ends in football and are deservedly compensated as such. Kraft has the talent and upside to enter that stratosphere sooner rather than later, but we all know how this goes. The next man in line for a massive raise typically vaults to the top of the financial rankings; it's just business.
Either way, any long-term investment in Pitts sets a clear floor for the Packers' dialogue with Kraft, so time might be of the essence.
Note: Metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus' premium stats ($).