Top NFL free agents mostly sign within a matter of days once negotiating opens during the second week of March. It then takes a few weeks for accurate contract details to emerge, after initial reports often exaggerated numbers or failed to mention a crucial aspect. (Stay up to date on all the latest signings and rumors with RotoWire's Free Agent Tracker.)
And now for the tight ends...
2026 Tight End Contracts
Tier 1
TE Isaiah Likely — 3 Years, $40M ($20.5M GTD)
Likely is set to make $28 million over the next two years, before incentives, of which his contract has plenty. He has $20.5 million fully guaranteed at signing, including $5.5 million of his $12.85 million base salary for 2027. He figures to collect the other $7.4 million as well, giving him around $28 million that's all but guaranteed.
Likely now ranks fourth among TEs in average annual value ($13.3M) and ninth in guaranteed money, which is impressive, but perhaps not as impressive as it sounds. No position has a smaller salary spread between the middle class and upper class... and the "upper class" salary-wise is essentially just George Kittle ($19.1M AAV) and Trey McBride ($19M).
Likely's contract leaves no doubt that a considerable role is planned, but he can live up to the money without necessarily being a fantasy standout if he's playing something like 30-40 snaps and maintaining strong per-route numbers. We probably need him more in the range of 40-50 snaps to be a success at his new best-ball ADP in Round 11. That's not out of the question, but it's also not guaranteed, and partially depends on what fellow tight end Theo Johnson shows this summer.
My recent best-ball stance on Likely has essentially been neutral, drafting him for Giants stacks or when he falls a round below ADP. My favorite picks in that ADP range are QBs or WRs, including Sam Darnold and Jayden Higgins.
Tier 2
TE Cade Otton — 3 Years, $30M ($20M GTD)
TE Charlie Kolar — 3 Years, $24.3M ($17M GTD)
TE Chig Okonkwo — 3 Years, $27M ($16.7M GTD)
Otton and Okonkwo played far more snaps and caught far more passes than Kolar during the course of their respective rookie contracts. The assumption is that Kolar could've done a lot more if he hadn't been sharing a TE room with Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. As a Ravens fan, I tend to agree. Kolar is competent as both a pass catcher and blocker, potentially setting up the Chargers for some dangerous two-TE formations with Oronde Gadsden at his side.
There's probably no scenario where Kolar has mainstream fantasy value, unless Gadsden is injured long-term, but this was still a fascinating signing for fantasy purposes, especially when taken in combination with the addition of FB Alec Ingold, who spent the past few years in Miami under new Chargers OC Mike McDaniel. What's more, the Chargers signed RB Keaton Mitchell and four veteran O-linemen, whereas they haven't added anything at wide receiver so far.
The idea, presumably, is to build a potent running game that opens things up for the existing pass-game weapons (Justin Herbert, Gadsden, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Tre' Harris) to improve their per-play efficiency. Just don't assume Herbert will match his usual dropback volume, even if the Chargers add a rookie weapon soon.
Travis Kelce — 1 Year, $12M ($12M GTD)
No longer among the elite at his position, Kelce may nonetheless squeeze out another year or two of fantasy value (and some pretty nice real-life compensation). This isn't "thank you for what you've done" money, i.e., the Chiefs plan for Kelce to handle a considerable workload again. He was previously one of the top best-ball steals, going outside the top 150 earlier this offseason, but the market has properly corrected since Kelce's return for 2026 became official.
Tier 3
TE Daniel Bellinger — 3 Years, $24M ($14M GTD)
Bellinger mostly seems to be generating fantasy interest for how his presence might impact fellow Titans tight end Gunnar Helm, who happens to be one of my favorite breakout candidates at the position. With Okonkwo gone and replaced by a more blocking-oriented tight end, Helm has a chance to build on his solid rookie campaign. His ADP is still in TE3 range for fantasy, around the 16th Round on Underdog or 17th Round on DraftKings.
TE Dallas Goedert — 1 Year, $7M ($7M GTD)
Goedert did the same thing as Kelce, only at a much lower price, despite finishing 2025 with a career-high 11 TDs and his second-most snaps (787) in a season. Some of Goedert's other receiving numbers were down, but that was partially a product of red-zone work and TDs depressing the yardage averages.
Reading between the lines, Philadelphia likely believes Goedert's blocking was part of the problem with the running game last season. He's generally been viewed as a good blocker, especially relative to other catch-first TEs, but that may no longer be the case at age 31. Whether it costs him snaps — after years of handling a near-every-down role — partially depends on what else the Eagles have at tight end. Heading into the NFL Draft, they've got Grant Calcaterra and Johnny Mundt, a.k.a. weak competition for even a declining version of Goedert.
Goedert contract details!
Along with dead money they were already eating, $7.585M, this adds an additional $2.645M to their cap in '26.
Also, their is language to post June 1 release him next year to split up $18.262M in dead money across '27 & '28.#FlyEaglesFly https://t.co/0NXEJ15HmC
— Kelly Green Hour (@KellyGreenHour) March 19, 2026
Tier 4
TE Julian Hill — 3 Years, $15M ($7.5M GTD)
TE Noah Fant — 2 Years, $8.75M ($4.5M GTD)
TE Durham Smythe — 1 Year, $3M ($3M GTD)
TE Foster Moreau — 2 Years, $6M ($3M GTD)
TE Greg Dulcich — 1 Year, $2.9M ($2.9M GTD)
Dulcich is the only one here attracting any fantasy interest at the moment. He had some decent games for Miami during the second half of last season, and there's not much else for new Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis to work with. Still, Dulcich is merely a 20th-round guy for best ball, not yet on the normal redraft radar.
