The Jacksonville Jaguars signed tight end Brenton Strange to a three-year extension worth up to $48 million on Wednesday, and PFN’s Jacob Infante thinks they read the tight end market exactly right.
The deal includes $25 million guaranteed and tops out around $16 million per year, which slots Strange fifth in average annual value at the position. That number drew pushback as an overpay for a tight end with one strong season on his resume. Infante sees it differently.
“Ultimately, it comes down to taking a look at what the tight end market is going to become,” Infante said on the Football Debate Club.
Why the Brenton Strange Extension Beats the Tight End Market
The logic starts with who is not getting paid yet. The best young tight ends in football are still locked into cheap rookie contracts, which has kept the top of the market artificially thin.
“You take a look at some of the top tight ends in the league, so many of them are on rookie deals still,” Infante said. He rattled off Tucker Kraft, Brock Bowers, Sam LaPorta and Colston Loveland, then added the 2025 rookie class of Tyler Warren, Oronde Gadsden and Harold Fannin.
That backlog is the whole point. Right now only George Kittle at $19.1 million and Trey McBride at $19 million sit at the top, with Kyle Pitts joining them this week at $18 million. Once Bowers, Kraft and the rest cash in, the going rate for a starting-caliber tight end climbs with them.
“Those guys, when they get paid, are going to make a ton of money,” Infante said. “It’s going to be a lot closer to the $19 million that Trey McBride and George [Kittle] are making, more than likely.”
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Strange comes in under that wave at $16 million. He may rank fifth today, but Infante does not expect that to hold, and locking in the price before it moves is the advantage. “You’re still getting out in front of that market shift,” he said.
Brenton Strange’s Production Curve Justifies the Jaguars’ Bet
The market timing only works if the player keeps rising, and Strange has done nothing but climb. After catching 5 passes for 35 yards as a rookie buried behind Evan Engram, he posted 40 receptions for 411 yards in 2024, then 46 catches for 540 yards and 3 touchdowns across 12 games in 2025.
The Jaguars felt the difference when he was off the field. Jacksonville went 11-1 and averaged 30.1 points in the games Strange played, and 2-3 at 22.6 points in the five he missed with a hip injury. For a team that won the AFC South at 13-4 in Liam Coen’s first year, that swing is not a coincidence.
“You’re getting a guy whose receiving production has improved year over year,” Infante said. “He’s a really good blocker. He’s still only 25.”
That last part matters most. At 25, the Jaguars are paying for Strange’s prime, not the back end of a career. He was entering the final year of his rookie deal, so this was the cheapest he was ever going to be.
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The risk is real if he plateaus, since $16 million is a lot for a tight end who has yet to crack 550 receiving yards in a season. The bet is that the arrow keeps pointing up and the market climbs to meet him. Infante is comfortable making it.
“I really like this signing of Brenton Strange, that extension for the Jacksonville Jaguars,” he said.