With Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth likely in line for a contract extension next summer, there are two other young NFL tight ends he might be looking to top in new money average in 2024, especially if he has a 2023 season similar to his first two, if not better. Those two tight ends are Cole Kmet of the Chicago Bears and T.J. Hockenson of the Minnesota Vikings. On Wednesday, Kmet was the first of those two to sign an extension, so he effectively becomes the first potential marker in the sand for Freiermuth.
According to Adam Schefter and Field Yates of ESPN, the Bears and Kmet have agreed on a four-year, $50 million contract extension. That deal reportedly includes $32.8 million guaranteed and $20 million in new first-year cash.
If the four new years do indeed total $50 million, that puts Kmet’s new money average at $12.5 million, and it would tie him with New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry as being the ninth highest-paid tight end in the NFL.
While we don’t know other key financials related to the Kmet extension, he probably received a signing bonus of somewhere around $12 million and a minimum 2023 base salary of $1.01 million. Kmet was previously scheduled to earn $2.993 million in 2023, the final year of his rookie contract. It sounds like Kmet will have a total of $20 million in new money through the first new year of his new deal, 2024, and possibly $32.8 million through the second new year of his new deal, 2025. We’ll see what the specifics say in a few more days.
Kmet was selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He has totaled 138 receptions for 1,399 yards and nine touchdowns in his first three seasons and 50 total games played.
As for Freiermuth, he has already registered 123 receptions for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns in just his first two NFL seasons and 32 total games played. Assuming he has a similar season in 2023 as his first two, he will surely be expecting a new money average greater than the $12.5 million that Kmet just received.
With Kmet now done, we now wait to see if the Vikings get Hockenson signed to a contract extension prior to Week One of the 2023 regular season. Quite honestly, that extension could happen in the next couple of days now that Kmet’s deal is done. We’ll see.
