Steelers Sign TE Pat Freiermuth to Four-Year Contract
The Pittsburgh Steelers and tight end Pat Freiermuth have agreed to a four-year, $48.4 million contract extension, sources told Steelers Now.
Freiermuth had been set to enter the final year of his rookie contract. The extension will add four years of new money. The contract includes an $11.8 million signing bonus.
The average annual value of the new money on the contract is $12.1 million, which will make Freiermuth the 9th-highest paid tight end in the NFL, slotting between Dalton Shultz of the Houston Texans ($12 million per season) and Cole Kmet of the Chicago Bears ($12.4 million per season).
The new contract will increase his 2024 salary cap hit, but that number cannot be specifically calculated without the yearly breakdown of his salary. The Steelers used some of the cap space they created by extended defensive tackle Cam Heyward earlier in the week to sign Freiermuth.
A second-round pick out of Penn State in 2021, Freiermuth has been the Steelers’ primary starting tight end since his rookie season. He has 1,537 yards over his three seasons and 11 touchdowns. His best statistical season came in 2022, when he caught 63 passes for 732 yards and two touchdowns.
With the Steelers making the change to Arthur Smith as the team’s offensive coordinator, Freiermuth is expected to play an even larger part of the offense moving forward. Smith’s Atlanta Falcons team in 2023 threw to tight ends 175 times, the third-most in the NF
RELATED: Pat Freiermuth Raves about Arthur Smith’s Tight End-Friendly Offense: ‘It Was Very Refreshing’
Freiermuth is the first of the Steelers’ young offensive core to sign a contract extension with the team. Fellow 2021 draft picks Dan Moore Jr. and Najee Harris are also entering the final season of their contracts, and appear less likely to be extended.
Zachary Smith contributed reporting.
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