Falcon Report

Report: Falcons Make Logical Move with Kyle Pitts

The Atlanta Falcons have made a contract decision on former No. 4 overall NFL Draft pick Kyle Pitts.

Scott Kennedy

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
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The Atlanta Falcons have made the logical-contract decision on Kyle Pitts according to a report from Field Yates.

"The Falcons have picked up the 2025 5th-year option on TE Kyle Pitts, per source," wrote Yates on X.

Atlanta now has two years of contract control for Pitts.

Some may question why it seems logical to pick up the rookie option on Pitts considering most feel he has yet to live up to his lofty-draft status.

The Falcons made Pitts the highest-drafted tight end in history when they took him No. 4 overall in 2021. With that selection, comes the slotted-contract money that comes with it. They higher a player is drafted, the more money he's paid.

However, the fifth-year option on the rookie contract is different. It's tied to the position much like a franchise-player tag, rather than where that player was taken in the draft.

Pitts's fifth-year option is only $10.9 million according to OverTheCap. There are three factors that go into the compensation for the fifth-year option: position, playing time, and Pro Bowls.

As a tight end, who played enough snaps to get the playing-time bonus, Pitts's option went from a base of $7.2 million to $8.0 million to $10.9 million since he made a Pro Bowl appearance as a rookie.

Rashawn Slater of the LA Chargers was taken with the No. 13 overall pick. He also has a Pro Bowl appearance on his resume. His fifth year option will pay him $19.0 million.

It seems odd that a rookie contract is slotted to where a player is drafted, but the fifth-year option on that contract is tied to his position.

It works out for the Falcons though. Pitts was a Pro Bowler his rookie season with Matt Ryan as his quarterback. He struggled with injuries and inconsistent quarterback play in 2022 and 2023.

He's still just 23-years old, 5-months younger than Atlanta's first-round pick Michael Penix Jr., and still oozes talent and upside.

$10.9 million is a relatively cheap gamble for the Falcons to take on his fully-guaranteed option year.

They'll have a decision to make on Drake London next year. London has yet to make a Pro Bowl, but he'll easily make the playing time bonus. A wide receiver getting the playing time option, taken the year before London would be compensated $15.6 million. A Pro Bowl sees that number jump to $19.8 million.


Expect that number to rise next year, and expect the Falcons to pick up London's option.
A Pro Bowl snub isn't always a bad thing for your team, but it can be costly to the player.

In 2026, it will be Bijan Robinson whose fifth-year option will be on the table. Robinson's 2026 compensation, his fourth year in the league, is scheduled to be $7.0 million. The fifth-year option for Najee Harris of the Steelers is scheduled to be $6.8 million.

In the case of Pitts and Robinson, by taking a non-premium position in the top 10, they could get bargains on their fifth-year options. If Robinson become as big a part of the offense as Atlanta hoped he would become when they took him No. 8 overall in 2023, he may want to renegotiate his rookie deal.

But that's a problem for way down the line and would be a good problem for the Falcons to have.

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Scott Kennedy
SCOTT KENNEDY