Come on down, Cole Kmet! You’re the latest NFL player to snag a big-money extension from your team.
We’ve been waiting on this for a hot minute. And it is finally here. on the Chicago Bears signing their top tight end to a four-year extension worth up to $50 million:
This is truly a big-time deal for Kmet and the Bears. Firstly, the $50 million total value puts him in the top 10 of players at the position. Kmet edges Evan Engram, whose $41.25 million extension prob💮ably played a r𒁏ole in setting the market for the Bears tight end. That $12.5 million per year average also gets Kmet in the top 10 at his position, putting him tied for ninth with Patriots tight end Hunter Henry. For me, the biggest and most important number is in the guarantees. Kmet gets $32.8 million in guarantees, which puts him in the top 5 among tight ends. Move over, Dawson Knox! You’ve got company.
All in all, this is the kind of extension I think everyone will be happy with once the dust settles. The Bears are keeping around a young player who has been getting better every year. And on the other side of the table, the player (Kmet) gets a nifty payday out of the deal. As an additional bonus, Kmet gets to keep playing for his hometown team. Whether he gets to play in Arlington Heights down the line is a bridge we’ll cross when we get to it at a later date. But for now, it is cool to see that Bears fan from Day 1 Cole Kmet will continue suiting up for the Bears.
The more it settles in with me, the more I like the Cole Kmet extension. It just makes sense. For GM Ryan Poles, it proves that he *CAN* get a high-profile extension done. At this time last year, we were experiencing the beginning of the end of Roquan Smith’s time in Chicago because of both sides’ inability to hash out a deal. Fair or not, failing to extend Roquan called into question if Poles could get it done. But a year later, he’s done it. Poles gave an extension to a player he didn’t draft. That’s a good sign. Not just because it keeps continuity on the offense, but also because it sends the message that you don’t have to be Poles’ hand-picked guy to get your payday. Remember when Roquan Smith said Ryan Poles was negotiating in bad f🔯aith last offseason? This Kmet extenꦬsion might not be a league-changer, but it should start shifting the narrative when it comes to doing business at Halas Hall.
I thought Kmet’s deal would be something in the three-year, $40 million range. So I fell a year short when compared to what actually went down, but the AAV money comes in a little less than what I thought. All things considered, this isn’t a bank-breaking deal. And it isn’t one that would serve as a handcuff and keep the Bears from doing other deals down the line. For me, that makes it a win-win deal. Now, keep on keeping on Cole Kmet. The arrow is clearly pointing up right now.
In the end, this is just the beginning for Kmet. ESPN has him just outside of its ꧟top 10 tight end rankings after what might’ve been his best season as a pro. Kmet led the Bears in receiving yards (544), touchdowns (7), and receptions (50). No, Kmet isn’t going to be Travis Kelce. But he doesn’t have to be in order to find success in this offense. Plus, retaining Kmet keeps the Bears from entering a free agent market that hasn’t been kind to them when it comes to find TE help. With all due respect to Dion Sims, Trey Burton, and a past-his-prime Jimmy Graham, a 24-year-old Kmet with his arrow pointing up gets my juices flowing. Here’s hoping that is the first of GM Ryan Poles’ most notable extensions.
