49ers, Bosa agree to record $170 million extension (2024)

ByMatt Barrows, David Lombardi, Larry Holder and Dianna Russini

The San Francisco 49ers and Nick Bosa have agreed to terms on a five-year, $170 million contract extension with $122.5 million guaranteed, a league source confirmed, making the All-Pro edge rusher the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. Here’s what you need to know:

• San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the deal for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year has been completed.
• At an average of $34 million annually, Bosa’s contract surpasses Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s deal ($31.7 million) as the most for a defensive player.
• Bosa, 25, has sat out all of the team’s workouts (voluntary and mandatory) this offseason.
• The pass rusher is expected to play in the team’s season opener Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. “He’d have to have a beer belly and be out of shape or something,” Shanahan said. “And that’s not in Bosa’s DNA.”

The Athletic’sinstant analysis:

A sigh of relief?

There’s been an uneasy feeling surrounding the 49ers recently. They not only traded the guy they thought would be the face of the franchise, Trey Lance, for a mid-round pick, they sent him to an NFC rival. The fact that Jake Moody has been injured and looked shaky in the preseason has everyone nervous about heading into the season with a rookie kicker. And the team failed to ink a deal with their best player, Bosa, during training camp.

Now that Bosa is on his way to Santa Clara, the odd atmosphere will start to get swept away. Bosa is the best player on the team’s best unit. He turns a good defense into an exceptional one. And his mere presence gives the team an air of confidence. If the 49ers win in Pittsburgh, the strange way the preseason ended won’t seem nearly as consequential. — Barrows

How will Bosa’s new mega deal affect his play?

It shouldn’t. He’s been as consistent as any edge defender since entering the league in 2019 and his offseason routine is as austere as any 49ers player. (He might indulge in dessert once or twice a month.)

The question for 2023 is which teammate will step in as his bookend? Drake Jackson added weight and strength in the offseason, and the 49ers are eying him as a three-down player in future seasons. But the better defensive end in training camp may have been Clelin Ferrell, who was disruptive all summer and who didn’t miss a practice.

Austin Bryant and veteran Kerry Hyder Jr. fill out the position. Rookie Robert Beal Jr. must miss at least the first four games after going on injured reserve with a recurring hamstring strain. — Barrows

What are the financial implications for the 49ers?

When it came to the salary cap, the 49ers were in a contradictory position as they worked on this contract. The size of Bosa’s deal would be problematic to fit in the team’s long-term cap outlook, but the 49ers budgeted the 2023 books around the short-term cap savings that the contract would produce. That’s because Bosa’s signing bonus, thanks to an NFL rule that amortizes its cap impact over several years, is a tool to lower those 2023 costs.

Bosa’s cap hit under the fifth-year option had been $17.9 million, but it’s now almost certainly several million lower than that — though the exact amount won’t be known until full contract details are available. Just know that Bosa’s cap impact has been spread over several seasons instead of being condensed into just this one.

With that, the 49ers have executed the final necessary maneuver to be financially ready for this 2023 season. They were up against the cap, but they’re now cap compliant and have the spending room to make necessary in-season transactions. As far as future years go, that’s where it’ll take some precise structural details to fairly judge the ramifications of this contract.

The 49ers already had over $263 million in total liabilities against the 2024 cap — which Over the Cap projects to land at $256 million — before counting this Bosa deal. That number will inevitably increase now, so the 49ers can officially begin maneuvering as they attempt to ensure that Bosa’s contract is an efficient long-term fit. —Lombardi

How Bosa stacks up

Here’s a look at the top 20 players in terms of sacks over the past two seasons.

(Stats via TruMedia; league rankings in parentheses; rankings among players with a minimum of 400 pass rush snaps the past two seasons):

Bosa is elite. Plain and simple. —Holder

By the numbers

Bosa would have been eligible for free agency after the 2023 season. Before the new deal, his salary ranked 33rd among pass rushers averaging around $8.3 million per season, via Over the Cap.

The previous highest salary for an edge defender belonged to Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt, who signed a four-year, $112 million deal ($28 million per year) in September 2021. Watt also had the previous high for guaranteed money for an edge defender, with $80 million.

What they’re saying

Asked how many snaps are realistic for Bosa, Shanahan, with a smile, said, “How many snaps are there in the game?”

Backstory

San Francisco selected Bosa, an Ohio State product, at No. 2 in the 2019 NFL Draft. He tallied 9 1/2 sacks in his rookie season to win the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year honor. Bosa only played two games in 2020 as a knee injury forced him to miss most of the season. He exploded for 15 1/2 sacks in 2021 and led the NFL in sacks last season with 18 1/2.

Bosa was subject to a $40,000 fine per day of mandatory practices missed, though the 49ers have indicated they will waive those thanks to a special exception for players on fifth-year options that allows those to be waived.

Required reading

• 49ers over/unders: Brock Purdy’s INT count; how to adjust Nick Bosa’s sack total?
• How Nick Bosa’s contract holdup fits with the 49ers’ crowded cap situation
• Five moments that cemented Nick Bosa’s Defensive Player of the Year season

The Football 100, the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Pre-order ithere.

(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)