Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates after a play during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The 49ers are taking care of business early this offseason. Or at least early for their standards.

They just signed future Hall of Fame tight end George Kittle to a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension according to reports. This deal makes him the highest-paid tight end in the league, as he should be. And they signed him in April before he missed a single practice, voluntary or not. Good for the 49ers and good for Kittle.

Last year, the 49ers took all offseason to extend Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams. As a result, they held out, training camp was a joke and the 49ers had a down season. Afterward, they acknowledged that the holdouts affected their preparation. So it’s good to see them avoid another awkward holdout.

It seems like Kittle and the 49ers struck a compromise. According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, not only did Kittle want to be the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, he wanted to get paid $20 million per season. That “2” seemed important to him, but he caved and accepted slightly less.

All the terms of Kittle’s deal have not yet been released, but we know he has $35 million guaranteed at signing and $40 million in total guarantees. So essentially, it sounds like the first two years of the deal are assured and the final two years might not be. We’ll find out soon enough.

The next big extension the 49ers will hand out most likely will go to Brock Purdy, who wants at least $50 million per season. Let’s see if he’ll take slightly less than he’s asking for like Kittle did.