Scott Gulbransen
Brock Bowers will not sign a contract extension with the Las Vegas Raiders this year. He can’t. The NFL rules say so.
For the Raiders to lock in their franchise tight end for the future, they must wait until after the 2026 season. By then, the price tag may not look anything like it does today. And that could be a problem. Or is it?
Three tight ends sit ahead of Brock Bowers in line for new deals. Those players are due for new deals and it could drastically change the tight end market when the Riaders are set to give their stud an extension or new deal.
Sam LaPorta in Detroit, Tucker Kraft in Green Bay, and Kyle Pitts in Atlanta are all ready to reset a resurgent tight end market in the NFL. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier this month, based on conversations with league executives, that LaPorta and Kraft are both positioned to push their pay above $19 million per season. Pitts hits the open market next offseason and could blow the ceiling out entirely if he reaches free agency.
That is the part that should worry general manager John Spytek.
Brock Bowers in a League of His Own?
Bowers, 23, is still playing on the four-year, $18.1 million rookie contract he signed in 2024. Spotrac lists his average annual value at roughly $4.5 million, which slots him 32nd among NFL tight ends. He set rookie records as a 21-year-old with 112 catches and 1,194 receiving yards and has been named All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons.
The current top of the tight end market is San Francisco’s George Kittle at $19.1 million per year, with Arizona’s Trey McBride essentially even at $19 million flat. Beyond those two, the position drops off quickly. That is the gap LaPorta, Kraft and Pitts are about to set the bar for Bowers and Spytek.
Bowers may end up in a different conversation entirely.
NFL.com senior researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno argued last year that Bowers’ next contract will be benchmarked against elite wide receivers, not tight ends. The top 10 wideouts in the league average north of $32 million per season. Ja’Marr Chase reset that market last offseason in Cincinnati at $40.3 million per year. Bowers will not get Chase money, of course, but the floor for his extension keeps climbing.
His usage is a proof point that he’s headed in that direction. After trading Davante Adams in 2024 and Jakobi Meyers in 2025, the Raiders failed to add a proven veteran wide receiver in either of the two offseasons that followed. Bowers became the offense’s top option by default. Klint Kubiak, the new head coach who spent last season running the offense in Seattle, is expected to lean on him even more.
Related: Michael Mayer Has Never Had a Real QB With the Las Vegas Raiders, but That Changes in 2026
Raiders Continue to Count on Bowers as Key to Offense
A PCL injury in Week 1 of the 2025 season cost Brock Bowers five games and he returned in Week 9 against Jacksonville, caught 12 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns, then put together another 11 games before going on injured reserve in late December. The final line: 64 receptions, 680 yards, seven scores. Pro Bowl number two, locked in and his value to the franchise cemented.
There’s no question GM John Spytek will spend to keep his own guys. The second-year general manager signed defensive end Maxx Crosby to a three-year, $106.5 million extension in 2025, the richest non-quarterback contract in franchise history. He passed on giving Meyers wide receiver money last summer and instead traded him. The pattern is becoming clear: pay the homegrown stars, and don’t stretch for the rest.
Cap space is not the issue here. Over The Cap projects the Raiders at $207.5 million in 2028 space, 13th-most in the league. That covers the first year of any Bowers deal with plenty of room left over.
The issue is the order things happen in.
Every tight end who signs before Bowers raises his floor and the cost to Spytek and the Raiders. In Detroit, LaPorta will most likely be wrapped up this summer. Kraft may be in training camp. Pitts will most likely hit the open market next spring. Each of those numbers becomes the new comp and will set the bar for what Bowers will cost the Raiders. By the time Spytek can pick up the phone, the conversation and the cost will have moved.
Bowers earns a $1.07 million base salary in 2026 and a $1.36 million roster bonus, with a cap hit just under $4.95 million.
Las Vegas opens the season Sept. 13 against Miami at Allegiant Stadium.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders 2026 Schedule: Zero Primetime Games, Toughest Road Stretch in Years
