Quote · New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
George Kittle on Tight End Respect, Mike Evans on the 49ers, F*ck Dallas Shirt & TEU Recap | EP 197
Where this was said
Tight End Pay Inequality & the Tactical Rise of the Position
At 31:16 · chapter starts 28:50
The conversation turns to something both Kittle and Travis feel strongly about: tight ends are getting more recognition, but the pay still doesn't match the workload — especially for the blocking specialists. [1] — George Kittle "The tight end room is creeping up in NFL pay, but number-three wide receivers catching 30 balls a season are still getting over $20 million…" 29:16 Kittle cites the absurdity directly: number-three wide receivers catching 30 passes a year are earning north of $20 million while a tight end playing 50 snaps per game and throwing his body into edge defenders might earn half that. Charlie Kohler getting paid by the Chargers as a blocking tight end is a sign of progress, Kittle notes, but there's still a gap. Jason then takes the conversation into the tactical dimension, comparing how the Shanahan-McVay offensive tree uses multi-role tight ends to how Bill Belichick used Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins as chess pieces in 3-4 sub-packages — the idea being that the more positions a player can credibly align in, the less any defense can prepare for a single personnel grouping.
The tight end room is creeping up in NFL pay, but number-three wide receivers catching 30 balls a season are still getting over $20 million while blocking tight ends playing 50 snaps a game earn a fraction of that. Kittle says the gap makes no sense.
Kittle and Jason Kelce dive into the tactical evolution behind tight-end heavy offenses. When you have a tight end who can split wide, align in-line, and work out of the backfield, defenses can't prepare for any single personnel package — it's the same multiplicity that made 3-4 linebackers so hard to stop.
