The Atlanta Falcons had a big decision to make before the start of free agency, and they chose the Kyle Pitts Franchise Tag route. The tight end, who won’t turn 26 until October, just finished playing out the fifth-year option of his rookie deal for $10.9 million. The franchise salary is an average of the top five paid players at the position, so for 2026, Pitts will receive a fully guaranteed $16.3 million.
The question the team needs to ask itself now is, “Do we work out a longer-term deal, or is this going to be Pitt’s extension?” They have until July to work out an extension before they are faced with a similar decision in the 2027 offseason. There are a number of reasons to lock Pitts up for the next half-decade, despite his inconsistent performance on the field.
The Journey
Pitts is one of the most physically gifted athletes at any position. He played tight end and defensive end in high school and was an Under Armour All-American. He did not redshirt at Florida, instead catching three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown as a freshman. In his sophomore year, he exploded onto the college scene with 54 receptions for 649 yards and five touchdowns.
In his final year of college, in 2020, he had 43 receptions for 770 yards (17.9 per reception) and 12 touchdowns. He entered the 2021 NFL draft, where he measured 6’6 and 250 pounds, running a 4.44 forty-yard dash (the tight end record is 4.38 by Vernon Davis in 2006). Touted as a “can’t-miss” prospect, the Falcons selected Pitts with the fourth overall pick.
Pitts was targeted 110 times as a rookie, catching 68 balls for 1,026 yards and a touchdown. He was injured in his second season, and the two after that were less than stellar, but his potential was still enough to pick up his fifth-year option. Pitts seemed to rebound in 2025, finishing second in the league for targets (118), receptions (88), and yards (928), behind Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals in all three categories.
A Kyle Pitts Franchise Tag Could Lead To This Type Of Contract
There are a number of reasons an extension makes sense for the Falcons. Not only is Pitts only 25 and showing that he could still be a force in the NFL, but the move makes fiscal sense as well. Right now, his cap number is $16.3 million, but if he signs a deal similar to what McBride did with the Cardinals last offseason (4 years, $76 million), with the same structure, Pitts’ cap number would drop to $8.70 million in 2026.
That number would go up to $16.10 million in 2027, but the Falcons’ cap space would jump from $26.5 million to $87.4 million, so no problem there. In year three, when his cap number hits $24.175, his dead cap would only be $10 million, so Atlanta could choose to release him if he doesn’t continue his ascent or extend him again. For now, Pitts is locked into Atlanta for a year, but it’s a safe bet that it will be four years before the end of the summer.
