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Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell raved about tight end Sam LaPorta after beating the New Orleans Saints in Week 13.

The Atlanta Falcons extension of Kyle Pitts all but guarantees Sam LaPorta is eventually going to be the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. The question is how soon the Detroit Lions can extend their young tight end before the price tag continues to rise.

LaPorta is projected to make more than Pitts, and Pitts got a contract that came in above market projections. He signed a three-year, $54M deal with $36M in guarantees. Making $18M per year puts him at third in Average Annual Value. He is only behind Trey McBride, at $19M per year, and George Kittle at $19.1M per year.

If LaPorta is a lock to make more than Pitts, and the top two tight ends only make about $1M more per year than Pitts, it is hard to see LaPorta coming in under $19M.

The Detroit Lions Must Extend Sam LaPorta This Offseason

LaPorta is entering his fourth NFL season and will be just 25 years old. Pitts will be 26 years old, so while he is younger, it is not a significant difference. Beyond that, Pitts has 2,197 yards from 2023-25, which is when LaPorta entered the NFL. LaPorta has 2,104 yards over that time.

However, LaPorta separates a bit on his efficiency. He has played 42 games over those three years compared to 51 by Pitts. He averaged 8.3 yards per target, where Pitts is at 7.8.

LaPorta also averages 1.74 yards per route run and even averaged 2 yards per route run last year. Meanwhile, Pitts is at 1.64 yards per route run with an average of 1.71 last season.

LaPorta is younger and more efficient than Pitts. Even Spotrac projected LaPorta to make nearly $4M more than Pitts this offseason when projecting his contract. It might not be that much, but LaPorta should expect more than $18M per year.

The question comes down to the injuries.

Lions Must Be Confident in LaPorta to Extend Him

LaPorta went from 120 targets as a rookie, to 83 in year two, and then 49 in his last season. He suffered a variety of nagging injuries in 2024, and while he mostly played through it, he was not nearly as impactful.

LaPorta was more efficient in 2025 when he was healthier, but he only played in nine games. He suffered a back injury and had to miss the rest of the season. So, now he is coming off of season-ending surgery on the back, which is a serious injury to come back from.

He is young enough that the expectation is for him to bounce back, but he has already been trending down since his rookie year.

LaPorta and his camp are going to contend that when he is healthy, he can play up to his rookie level. If he played up to his rookie-level status through three seasons, $20M per year would be a floor, not a potential ceiling.

The Lions will contend that while his potential is one of the best tight ends in the NFL, he has not lived up to that enough to overpay him. Pitts has not made the conversations easier over the next few months.