Falcons, star TE Kyle Pitts agree to 3-year, $54M deal - ESPN

Tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. and the Atlanta Falcons reached agreement Tuesday on a three-year, $54 million contract, said his agency, Athletes First.

The contract includes $36 million fully guaranteed, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

The $18 million average annual value of Pitts' deal is the third highest for a tight end, behind the San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle ($19.1 million) and the Arizona Cardinals' Trey McBride ($19 million).

Kyle Pitts Sr. has 3,579 career receiving yards, fourth among NFL tight ends since his rookie season in 2021.

The Falcons had used the franchise tag on Pitts for 2026 (at $15,045,000), but now that gets ripped up. The Falcons and Pitts had until July 15 to work out a long-term extension. He is now under contract with the Falcons through 2028.

Pitts' contract news comes just three weeks after the Falcons extended star wide receiver Drake London with a four-year, $141 million deal. Atlanta will now turn its attention to re-upping All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson.

Pitts, 25, was second in the league in receptions (88) and receiving yards (928) among tight ends to go along with five touchdown catches in 2025. Last December, he had one of the greatest performances by a tight end in NFL history with 11 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pitts, with that outing, became the first tight end to reach at least 150 yards with three touchdowns in a game since Shannon Sharpe in 1996.

The Falcons drafted Pitts at No. 4 in 2021, a controversial selection at the time because tight ends do not normally get taken that high. He went on to have one of the greatest seasons ever for a rookie tight end. Pitts had 1,026 receiving