The Arizona Cardinals aren't waiting to reward their top pass-catcher.
Tight end Trey McBride has agreed to an extension with Arizona that runs through the 2029 season, the team announced on Thursday. The deal is worth $76 million over four years, with $43 million guaranteed, of which $32.5 million is fully guaranteed, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. The extension also adds $19 million in new average per year money, per Rapoport.
At $76 million over four years, the one-time Pro Bowler vaults up the earning leaderboard at tight end to No. 1, exceeding the market rate set by Kansas City's Travis Kelce ($17.125 million per year) annually and San Francisco's George Kittle at total value ($75 million). His salary will nearly quadruple from 2025 to 2026, going from $5.786 million this season to $19 million per year starting in 2026.
A second-round pick out of Colorado State in 2022, McBride has steadily improved over his first three seasons with the Cardinals, going from 29 catches, 265 yards and one touchdown as a rookie to a career-best 111 catches, 1,146 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. He's proven his worth to the team that also spent a top pick on a receiver (Marvin Harrison Jr.) in 2024, yet still leaned heavily on the versatile tight end in a season that showed promise, but ended disappointingly short of the postseason.
McBride is a key part of the Cardinals' future on the offensive side of the ball and after demonstrating quite a rapport with quarterback Kyler Murray, he is being rewarded by Arizona before he enters the final year of his rookie contract. The Cardinals will hope to do the same with a few other key contributors as they continue to build toward a return to the postseason.
