Contract negotiations between tight end Zach Ertz and the Philadelphia Eagles have come to an “abrupt halt,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted Thursday.
Talks broke off after the Eagles made an offer that included less guaranteed money than the team offered in November, Rapoport said.
The market for tight ends has only increased since then.
In August, the San Francisco 49ers signed George Kittle to a five-year, $75 million extension ($40 million guaranteed), and the Kansas City Chiefs and Travis Kelce agreed to a four-year, $57.25 million deal ($20.75 million guaranteed). Austin Hooper inked a four-year, $42 million contract ($23 million guaranteed) with the Cleveland Browns in March.
Ertz, 29, has two years remaining on a five-year, $42.5 million contract he signed in January 2016. He is due to make $6.66 million this year.
The offer Ertz turned down in November was worth more than the contract Hooper signed, NFL Network’s Mike Silver reported after the Hooper signing in March.
In speaking with the media in August, Ertz said he thought he was among the elite tight ends in the NFL.
“I do consider myself in … that same tier with all those guys,” he said on a Zoom call with reporters about Kittle and Kelce. “I don’t mean any disrespect, but I think a lot of guys in this building feel the same way about me. I’m never in the business of comparing people. I think all three of us are at the top of our games, and I think we’re all perfect in the offense that we play in, honestly. I think we all have unique skill sets. We’re all very different, with some similarities. But overall I don’t think my game is any less than any of their games.”
Ertz is expected to pass Harold Carmichael in 2020 as the greatest pass catcher in Eagles history.
In his first seven seasons in the NFL — all with the Eagles — Ertz has 525 catches for 5,743 yards with 35 touchdowns in 106 games (71 starts). He is a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Carmichael, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had 589 catches over 180 games with the Eagles from 1971-83.
