The Jaguars and tight end Brenton Strange agreed to a three-year extension worth up to $48 million with $25 million guaranteed, per NFL Network. The deal keeps Strange under contract through the 2029 season and lands at $16 million in average annual value — fifth among tight ends, with a max value that would push into the top three at the position.
That is a striking figure for a player with one good season, which is exactly the bet Jacksonville is making. Strange, a second-round pick in 2023, set career highs last year with 46 catches, 540 yards and three touchdowns — and did it in just 12 games after missing five with a hip injury. Prorate that production over a full season and the price starts to look less like a reach and more like a discount taken early.
Paying now, a year before Strange’s rookie deal expired, is the point. The tight end market moved again Tuesday when Atlanta gave Kyle Pitts $18 million a season on his own extension, and every productive tight end who reaches the open market resets the ask for the next one. Jacksonville chose to buy before the next reset instead of after it.
The extension makes Strange the clear long-term centerpiece of the position group and closes the book on the question of whether the Jaguars viewed his 2025 breakout as real. Twenty-five million guaranteed says they do.
