Tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. and the Atlanta Falcons reached agreement Tuesday on a three-year, $54 million contract that 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 makes him the NFL's third-highest-paid tight end behind the San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle ($19.1 million) and the Arizona Cardinals' Trey McBride ($19 million).
The agreement was negotiated by David Mulugheta of Athletes First and Andre Odom.
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 contract extension. He is now under contract with the Falcons through the 2028 season.
Pitts' contract news comes just three weeks after the Falcons extended star wide receiver Drake London with a four-year, $141 million extension. 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 yards, the first 1,000-yard receiving season for a tight end since Mike Ditka in 1961. Pitts was the first rookie tight end to make the Pro Bowl since Jeremy Shockey in 2002.
Pitts, a Philadelphia native, dealt with injuries and inconsistency the next three seasons -- not reaching 700 receiving yards in any of those seasons -- before breaking out again last year.
Keeping Pitts is another indication that the new Falcons regime -- president of football Matt Ryan, coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Ian Cunningham -- is trying to shore up the future by holding on to the team's core base of skill players. Ryan was Pitts' quarterback during Pitts' rookie season in 2021.