Hours before the start of the 2024 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs and tight end Noah Gray agreed to a three-year, $18 million contract extension. The deal includes a signing bonus of $10.1 million, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

Gray, who is entering his fourth season, caught 28 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns last season as a backup to Travis Kelce. He started 10 games for Kansas City, with the offense featuring two tight ends, and played a total of 592 offensive snaps. (Gray also played 219 snaps on special teams.)

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told reporters last week that the plan is to use Gray less on special teams and give him a bigger role on offense.

“It would be good to keep Noah from doing some of those things,” Veach told the Kansas City Star. “I think Noah is getting better and better, and I think he’s a guy we want to use a little more (on offense).”

The Chiefs’ 2021 fifth-round draft pick (No. 162 overall) from Duke entered the final year of his rookie contract with a salary of $3.1 million. In three seasons, Gray has 63 receptions for 640 yards and four touchdowns.

With Kelce under contract for one more season through 2025 and at the end of his likely Hall of Fame career, it seems as though Gray’s contract extension also sets the team up for his future as a tight end after Kelce. If Kelce plays to the end of his contract, Gray will be signed for two more seasons.

Gray is the second player from Kansas City’s 2021 draft class to agree to a contract extension. Two weeks ago, center Creed Humphrey agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL.