Falcons sign Kyle Pitts to 3-year, $54 million extension, voiding the franchise tag
The deal carries $36 million fully guaranteed and an $18 million average, the third-highest at the position. The tag that bridged Atlanta and Pitts in the spring is now off the books.
When the Falcons placed the franchise tag on Kyle Pitts in the spring, the tight end called it a sign of trust and waited to see whether a long-term number would follow. It has. Atlanta and Pitts agreed to a three-year, $54 million extension that runs through 2028, with $36 million fully guaranteed. The $15,045,000 franchise tag has been voided, and the deal was finalized well ahead of the July 15 deadline for tagged players to sign long-term contracts.
What are the terms?
Pitts gets three new years at $54 million, an average of $18 million per season. The guarantee is the headline number: $36 million fully guaranteed, which is the security a tag never provides. At $18 million per year, Pitts slots in as the third-highest-paid tight end in the league by average value, behind San Francisco's George Kittle at $19.1 million and Arizona's Trey McBride at $19 million. For a player Atlanta had tagged for roughly $15 million on a one-year basis, the extension is a clear commitment rather than a holding pattern.
How does this resolve the franchise tag?
In June we covered Pitts reading the franchise tag as a vote of confidence, framing the one-year, $15.045 million figure as a sixth-year option rather than a snub. That bridge is now gone. The tag has been voided and replaced by the multi-year deal, which is exactly the prove-it logic resolving the way both sides hoped. The Falcons used the spring to evaluate Pitts in their new offense, liked what they saw, and got the long-term contract done before the July deadline that would have locked him into the tag for 2026.
Did his 2025 season earn this?
It did. Pitts finished second among NFL tight ends in 2025 with 88 receptions and 928 receiving yards, adding five touchdowns. The signature performance came in December against Tampa Bay: 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns, making him the first tight end since Shannon Sharpe in 1996 to post 150-plus yards and three scores in a single game. His 3,579 receiving yards since 2021 rank fourth among tight ends over that span. After years of being labeled an unfulfilled top-five pick, the breakout season is what turned a tag into a guaranteed payday.
Where does this leave Atlanta's roster math?
The extension follows Drake London's four-year, $141 million deal and lands before anticipated negotiations with running back Bijan Robinson, the order Atlanta laid out when it tagged Pitts. Pitts has also spoken about a culture change under head coach Kevin Stefanski, whose system gave him an expanded role last season. The pieces around him include quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, with offensive tackle Wanya Morris and edge rusher James Pearce Jr. added this offseason. Keeping Pitts on a defined three-year window gives the Falcons cost certainty at tight end as they sort out the rest of the core.
Players in this story
Sources
- ESPN: Falcons, star TE Kyle Pitts agree to 3-year, $54M deal
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