George Kittle has made one thing very clear: “My goal is to wear Red and Gold my entire career.” That’s the dream. But dreams in the NFL come with price tags, and Kittle’s next deal might push the 49ers into a tough spot. Their TE is heading into the final year of his five-year, $75 million contract, and the whispers are growing louder—does he get a massive extension, or do the Niners consider moving on?

According to 49ersSportsTalk, league insiders believe Kittle could command $20 million per year in his next contract. Given the rising salary cap and other star players securing that number, it’s not far-fetched. Even GM John Lynch has acknowledged Kittle’s value: “We want George to retire a Niner. He’s one of those guys. He’s a Niner through and through.”

The 49ers have $34.36M in cap space, but bumping Kittle to $20M per year will take some cap wizardry. 1. They could restructure contracts (think Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, maybe) to spread out cap hits. 2. Or extend Kittle’s deal with a back-loaded structure to ease the short-term impact.

3. Another option? Move a high-cost player like Bosa or Brandon Aiyuk to free up space, though that’s a tough call. They could also use incentives to reward Kittle without immediately inflating his cap hit or lean on the draft to keep cheaper talent in rotation. Bottom line: The Niners have options, but the real question is how much they are willing to sacrifice to keep Kittle in Red and Gold.

And amidst all this, let’s not forget what the Faithful remembers… Bosa and Aiyuk had to play the holdout game before getting their deals. They don’t expect it from George, but when money’s involved, it’s anyone’s guess. So, if Kittle does hold out, Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn has a bold suggestion: trade him while his value is high. The logic? The Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill and still won back-to-back Super Bowls. Trading a star a year early rather than a year too late can be smart business.

That sounds great, but then there’s another issue of replacing someone like Kittle… You can’t. From shaking up the locker room to making the O thin for Brock Purdy to work with. We’re talking about a guy who just posted 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in another Pro Bowl season. At 31, Kittle isn’t showing signs of slowing down. If the 49ers let him hit the open market, contenders would line up to add him.

But for now, all eyes are on San Francisco. Because that’s not the only headache Kyle Shanahan has, as of now.

Brock Purdy’s moving up from chump change

Mr. 262. That’s Brock Purdy. The final pick in the 2022  Draft. Some Tom Brady-esque story arc, you might think… But not even close. Not saying it isn’t impressive, but it is just Purdy’s storyline. That’s it. Oh, and at the moment, it is brought to you from San Fran for the highly affordable price of less than $1 million AAV on his 4-year $3.7 million rookie contract.

That’s about to change soon. He’s about to cash in—big time. Reports say the Niners are working on a deal that could put Purdy in the same tax bracket as the NFL’s biggest stars. Think $50-55 million per year kind of big. That’s  Josh Allen, Dak Prescott territory. And while some may argue if Purdy’s worth that kind of payday, the 49ers are making it clear: he’s their guy. And he wants to get it done ASAP!

“If there’s an opportunity to be able to get that done quick, that’d be great,” Purdy said. “Just so we can get back for phase one, get after it with the receivers and our team and just continue to grow.”

Insider Jordan Schultz says the negotiations are active, with hopes to get the deal done before the 2025 season kicks off. While the idea of Purdy topping Dak’s historic $60 million AAV seems unlikely, sources insist he’ll land somewhere in the $50-55 million range. For context, that’s what Allen’s MVP deal is worth. So, the question isn’t just how much, but how soon the Niners will lock this in.

Now, let’s be real—Purdy’s 2024 season wasn’t perfect. A 6-9 record, 3,864 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions aren’t exactly MVP numbers. But context matters. His key weapons were banged up, and the team around him wasn’t at full strength. The front office clearly believes last season was an outlier, not the new norm.

So, the real debate should be whether Purdy is worth this money. Some will argue he’s just a system QB benefiting from Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Others will point to his Super Bowl run in 2023 and say he’s earned every dollar coming his way. That’s character development from the final pick of the Draft.