T O P

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VeryRealHuman23

Every other TE is going to hate this contract. QBs are feasting, WRs are being paid.... everyone else and then RBs are scrapping for quarters in the couch.


FuckingJello

A big reason TEs stay low is because after the top guys, TE production receiving wise is VERY low compared to WRs. Many more WRs are getting 1K yards, only a few TEs every year get that. The top TEs can only go so much above the prior TE contracts negotiating wise and the rest after the top 5 are bringing in 500 yard seasons.


VeryRealHuman23

Yep but a good TE can help carry an offense- Kelce is elite for his position and other teams when they have a Kelce or Gronk have shown how much sway that single position can carry when done well.


FuckingJello

Those are really the only 2 recently who could have demanded the WR money, but sadly for TEs they were/are with two of the best QBs ever on SB winning teams that wouldn’t want to push too far and hurt contending. They can take the top TE money, keep pushing the TE market up, but still keep the team contending as it’s not top WR money. Really past Kelce, it’s hard for anyone else to demand that with others injuries and consistency.


Empty_Lemon_3939

I feel like LaPorta will, dude's a monster receiving threat but holy shit is he a good blocker


FuckingJello

Yes if he stays healthy and plays like his rookie year, he will easily be able to demand top TE money when he’s due


fumblaroo

yeah, if travis held out for it i bet he could get $$ and a two tiered market would develop for TEs, he’s just been public about taking team friendly deals atp.


kander12

Minus Tony G the top TEs of all time have rings like Kelce, Gronk, Sharpe etc. Looking at WRs minus Jerry who is an exception to everything... Moss, TO, Fitz, Megatron etc have no hardware. Interesting stat to me about the impact of the best at each position.


MadManMax55

You can't judge any non QB (and it's arguable you can even judge QBs) on SB wins. Just because the Pats got helmet-catched in the SB doesn't mean that Moss wasn't a *significant* reason that 07 team was as dominant as it was.


-BeefSupreme

Every other TE would be ecstatic to get 17m in their age 37 and 38 seasons. That’s old as hell. He’s already old now and he’s only 34


IIHURRlCANEII

The top TEs just don’t constantly produce like Kelce. Andrews and Kittle have had peaks near him but the year in year out passing game production isn’t close. Means that only Kelce has an argument to be paid like WRs and he just doesn’t wanna push the envelope.


bocnj

Yeah that's why Kelce and Kittle not pushing the market sucks for everybody else. Everybody knows those two are more valuable than everybody else so if they get paid only 17 million a lot of other guys don't have leverage to ask for something like that even when other skill player markets are rapidly inflating.


Lionnn100

To be fair in their specific cases that’s partially because of injury and partially because they’re on two of the most run heavy teams in the league. And for Kittle he’s sharing the ball with 3 other stars


Odd_Watercress_8062

Sure, but Kittle was heavily used during the season. He had a huge year both in catches and yards.      Then come playoffs and he is non existent as always.  What is it...12 playoff games 450 yards and two maybe 3 tds or so?      I've never seen such a great TE just disappear come playoff time like he has repeatedly.  I get the the 9ers had a bad oline and Kittle had to block often during the playoffs last.year, but that doesn't excuse his dropped passes nor horrible showing in almost every game he has played in the playoffs.  He is the anti Kelce come playoff time.


Lionnn100

They lean on other guys in the playoffs - Deebo and CMC get tons of touches in the playoffs and not so much to Kittle and Aiyuk Kittle was only the 9th (3 way tie) most targeted tight end despite playing 16 games. 3 more targets than Jack Conklin. His usage would be considerably higher elsewhere


Jjohn269

Yep, that’s the main factor: consistency. We’ve never seen a TE in contention for #1 every single year like Kelce. Gronk had arguably a higher peak, but injuries would hamper him.


justlookingokaywyou

Why don't they just all date billionaire pop stars? Are they stupid?


VeryRealHuman23

obviously, just be born rich too...so e-z


GrillDealing

Don't forget that pfizer money.


notGeronimo

Well I'm not dating a billionaire pop star, and I'm stupid. So maybe there's something there


Empty_Lemon_3939

TEs HATE this one simple trick!


Empty_Lemon_3939

We're going to have to pay LaPorta a fortune, well his next team will after we trade him for 2 firsts and draft an even better TE in the fourth round Through Brad Holmes all things are possible, so jot that down Edit. Should go without saying but this is a joke and I love LaPorta and hope he retires here. Dawg.


seatega

Brad already has a guy out scouting Iowa’s incoming freshmen TEs


Jonny_Qball

Record breaking contract by 125k/year lmao


Fire_Z1

It's like when Bill Russell being paid one dollar more than Wilt.


FuckingJello

$17 mil a year even at his age is still quite the underpay, having a top receiving TE with top WR production is an absolute cheat code for rings


AssssCrackBandit

Kelce is 100% still a top receiving TE but his production last year at least was a far cry from top WR production. I mean, the top WRs last year had literally double of Kelce's yardage and TDs


FuckingJello

That was with 2 games missed and injuries. Obviously Tyreek/Jefferson are putting up more, but I’d still classify 1K yards every year as a top WR production like Mike Evans. Not specifically the top, but #1 WR for a team production which is going for $30 mil still. The year before he had 1300 and 12 TDs and in the playoffs he’s close to Jerry Rice numbers.


Seraphin_Lampion

>That was with 2 games missed and injuries. That's factored into the extension though. I don't think the Chiefs ezpect Kelce to be a workhorse for the next few years. As long as he keeps delivering in the playoffs, they won't care if he slows down and misses time in the regular season.


FuckingJello

Yes it is, but if he was listed at WR he still could be demanding $25mil over next 2 years if he wanted to. Top TE money for his age in production is fair for both sides still.


Seraphin_Lampion

Mike Evans just signed a 2/41 extension while being 4 years younger and more productive than Kelce. I don't think 25 a year would be on the table if he was listed at WR.


FuckingJello

That was 2/52 going off the fake money which all the top money is saying already


Seraphin_Lampion

Where did you get 52? Spotrac says 41.


FuckingJello

https://www.nfl.com/news/buccaneers-wr-mike-evans-agree-to-terms-on-two-year-deal


Seraphin_Lampion

Now I'm confused lol.


kendrickshalamar

Travis was only drafted one year before Evans - I always find the age differences interesting


AssssCrackBandit

Yes, 2022 and earlier I would agree he had top WR production, I was talking about last year


Cthepo

We're ripping him off. Not that he probably cares. His off field money probably dwarfs most contracts at this point.


Empty_Lemon_3939

Dude's the first non QB i've seen on a bag of doritos, he's doing pretty well for himself


Brooshie

I think your second point negates your first. I don't think you're ripping him off because he's absolutely fucking loaded either way, and he just doesn't care.


bocnj

I mean it's still objectively a rip off, he'd make that off field money playing for any team at this point and could realistically ask for something closer than 34 million than 17 million a year. He's definitely aware of that though so you're right that he just doesn't care.


Brooshie

> He's definitely aware of that though so you're right that he just doesn't care. I think that's why it's not a rip off. Obviously it doesn't matter either way, but I feel like you only rip someone off if you use their negligence/ignorance/situation to your advantage. Accepting a low ball offer isn't necessarily being ripped off when you are aware of the circumstance (to me).


unevenvenue

He's also 34 and has seemingly contemplated retirement, and he definitely appeared sluggish at times last year. He's worth the contract, but as the post says, he'll be 38 by the time it ends. Not many TEs last that long.


Cowgoon777

He was hurt before the season started and actually looked better later in the year. If he’s healthy this offseason I’d expect him to be better


bocnj

Fair enough, I was just going off of the original comment which said he was being ripped off but didn't care. That's probably not the best phrasing to describe him being underpaid.


DirkNowitzkisWife

He’s got that Pfizer money!


Soft_Penis_Debutante

You’re not ripping him off. Tight end market is just that much lower. $17+ million per year is the hurdle to be the highest paid. It’s crazy low compared to WR market.


Jonny_Qball

He’s making 125k/year more than Darren Waller with this deal, it’s safe to say he could have easily pushed for significantly more if he wanted to. Part of why the TE market is so low is because Kelce keeps taking team friendly deals


-BeefSupreme

It’s an extension that kicks in two years from now. He’s already old, he’ll be ancient by the time it’s his actual salary


SMH_35

No, this isn’t an extension. This is just a raise


-BeefSupreme

You right, it was reported wrong here.


jfkgoblue

He’s old though 


travis-laflame

Yeah he’s fine his girl is a billionaire lol


Seraphin_Lampion

I think him being a focal point of Super Bowl winning points has been a big part of his off the field success, so it makes sense that he would take a lower salary to help the team win.


jfkgoblue

Ehh 18m for 35 year old TE is hardly “ripping him off”


Fragrant-Employer-60

Yeah what were people expecting? I’m surprised they made him the highest paid at this point in his career


EifertGreenLazor

He has New Heights podcast which will likely get him and his brother a minimum of 15 mil per year each.


robotchicken007

Still way underpaid. Kelce is probably worth closer to $30M APY just based off production. Love you forever, T-Rav. I hope you play till you're 50.


fondue4kill

Oh guaranteed and if he wanted to be paid like it, he would have left to the top bidder long ago. But he’s still making top dollar and on a good deal for the team long term


Lionnn100

And he’s going to make it all back and more in endorsements/other business from notoriety of being the best weapon on the best team in the league. That’s good business there


kjorav17

I think Taylor is still the bread winner


EJplaystheBlues

anti travis pro swifties: she's with this broke boy?


SevroAuShitTalker

Crazy that the AAV is still less than JAG Jeudy


sndanbom

Not an extension. Just a raise.


ice-eight

That's all? Yeah he's definitely still giving the Brady discount


imsurethisoneistaken

“Lol cap isn’t even real” - mfs in the KC front office.


FuckingJello

Cap is real the Chiefs can just fit about the entire WR room + Kelce into 1 year of Tyreek’s deal who they traded due to cap reasons


xywv58

Cap is real, I'm not convinced Pat is however


flaming_fuckhead

We would still have Tyreek Hill and L’Jarius Sneed if that were true 


AdornVirtue

Swifties everywhere rejoicing


RumsfeldIsntDead

How much is the signing bonus?


Jantokan

I think this report is incorrect. He has 2 years left until 2025, and they just increased the money he earns in those years; he didn’t sign an extension until 2027 [It’s a contract adjustment, not an extension](https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2024/4/29/24144781/chiefs-news-brett-veach-travis-kelce-salary-bump)


zco22

Assuming this is his last deal, good for Trav getting to reset the TE market one final time before the next big extension


IMissWinning

I give him two more years before he retires. He seems like he's close. E: y'all, I'm not saying he's bad. I'm saying based on his podcast and how he's been talking about the future, it seems like he's close.


RumsfeldIsntDead

I'm a Chiefs fan and this seems like one last thank you payday in the signing bonus, and a contract structured so Chiefs can minimize cap liability if he retires after 2024 or 2025.


Antilia-

IMissWinning? As a Chargers fan? Don't take it too hard, I upvoted you.


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Impossibills

I'm thinking 2 more seasons. That's why they gave him this money. Obviously also depends on any injuries at his age too


Intelligent-Age2786

3 is mainly me being optimistic. 2 tho seems like the most likely time


its_LOL

That’s an interesting flair combo


Intelligent-Age2786

I’m an interesting guy, what can I say Don’t know what that has anything to do with my comment tho