Are NFL tight ends underpaid? Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce's stats make a strong case
Travis Kelce is arguably the best tight end in the NFL, winning his second career Super Bowl in February. The eight-time Pro Bowler has carved one of the best careers for a player in his position in quite some time. He has the most receiving yards (8,607), touchdowns (59) and receptions (675) for a tight end since 2016.
Fox Sports NFL analyst Warren Sharp stated how great Kelce has been, taking it a back a season further.
Sharp said:
"Travis Kelce leads the NFL in receiving yardage since 2015. That’s right. His 9,482 receiving yards since 2015 are more than any other player in the NFL. And yet he has made the 20th most money among all receivers during that span."
most receiving yards in the NFL since 2015?
Travis Kelce
but he ranks 20th in receiver earnings during that span
he, and all top tight ends, are underpaid
they remain a huge efficiency edge for savvy teams
the average top-5 TE makes $14.9M/yr
the average top-5 WR makes… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/V6av2H67cx
Sharp also alluded to how underpaid tight ends are in relation to their productivity:
"They’re underpaid. The average top-five TE makes $14.9 million/year. The average top-five WR makes $27.4 million/year. That’s nearly twice as expensive for the top of the WR market as the top of the TE market.
Travis Kelce will earn a base salary of $11.25 million in the upcoming season. Kelce has played for a decade in the NFL and, out of those 10 seasons, he's had seven 1,000+ yard receiving seasons. In terms of targets, the Kansas City Chiefs star has 1,059 targets, the fourth-most since 2015.
He has been the best player for the Chiefs as he owns five of the top 10 single-season records in receptions in team history. Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez owns four, while former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill owns one.
In the 2020 season, Kelce eclipsed Gonzalez for the most yards by a tight end in a season in franchise history with 1,416 yards. The former Cincinnati Bearcats star is now making the case to be not the best tight end in Chiefs history, but in NFL history.
Travis Kelce and his place amongst tight ends all-time
Travis Kelce's dominance throughout his likely Hall of Fame career has found him in some elite company. He's one of only four tight ends with over 10K career yards with 10,344 yards. Only Gonzalez (15,127), Jason Witten (13,046) and Antonio Gates (11,841) have more all-time.
He ranks sixth in touchdowns (69) and fourth in targets (814) in league history. Kelce will be entering his 11th NFL season this year and will be 33 years old, meaning he'll be adding to his numbers. We'll see if Travis Kelce can add to the case of being the tight end GOAT this season.
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