The 49ers offseason is over aside from one very big move: a new contract for Nick Bosa.
Bosa is entering the last year of his rookie deal, and is set to become a free agent next offseason. San Francisco will obviously not let that happen, and have said as much, but a massive new contract has yet to be agreed upon.
So how long might this go? 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco joined KNBR on Thursday to provide an update, and said the fact that there isn’t really a ticking clock at the moment means there isn’t huge urgency from both sides.
“I think that deadlines spur action,” Maiocco told Murph & Mac. “There’s no real set deadline. I think that what will happen is if there is not an agreement reached before reporting day, he will still report. I think that the 49ers would not expect him to step on the field without a new contract. I don’t think that Nick Bosa and his representation, more likely, would expect him to step on the field without a new contract.”
While Bosa might not play in Week 1 if he doesn’t have a new deal on September 10, that’s two months away. He wasn’t going to play in the preseason anyway, and is still expected to participate in training camp. That means there really isn’t a downside for either side to let this go awhile longer.
“I think we’re still in kind of the back-burner stages as far as you and I are concerned,” Maiocco continued. “I’m sure the 49ers have their idea of where he should be. I’m sure Bosa’s representation has an idea of where he should be. I think it’s a more difficult contract than probably the last three contracts they had to do. Which was Kittle, Warner and Deebo.
“Bosa’s kind of in a different realm coming off NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Will he be the top paid defensive player in the league? I would think so, although the 49ers could be saying ‘Aaron Donald makes this much, so maybe you should be a step below him.’ I think it’ll all get figured out.”
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