George Kittle’s five-year, $75 million contract extension with the 49ers in 2020 made him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. Despite that, negotiating his worth was not fun.
In an interview with ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio last week, Kittle compared contract negotiations to another painstaking task: Getting braces.
“You absolutely hate it when you’re doing it,” Kittle said. “The second you get your contract, the braces come off. You get a beautiful smile. You don’t really think about braces anymore.”
Kittle said that piece of advice came courtesy of former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, and the tight end certainly has $75 million reasons to smile.
His teammate, though, might be in the process of getting braces right now.
Deebo Samuel’s situation with the 49ers remains up in the air. The star wide receiver, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023, has remained at an impasse with the 49ers regarding a contract extension.
Samuel requested a trade in April, but the 49ers haven’t budged. He is now not attending the team’s voluntary offseason workouts without a new contract.
Kittle’s advice -- via Sherman -- for anyone going through contract negotiations is to not take things personally.
“It’s tough when you’re getting judged, like, ‘Hey, you’re only worth this amount. Well, I think I'm worth this amount,’ and you’re arguing,” Kittle said. “But at the end of the day, when you get your contract it’s like well, it is what it is. We said what we said but we’re still here working together to try to win a Super Bowl.
“So you can’t take things personally. You’ve got to move on, honestly.”
Related: Kittle believes Deebo is in 'good place' amid contract drama
Kittle was not referring to the Samuel situation or any individual player in particular.
But it’s apparent that if or when Samuel and the 49ers come to a solution after months of drama, both sides will have to endeavor to leave the arguments in the room and focus on winning on the field.
Perhaps Kittle can recommend an orthodontist for Samuel.