The 49ers’ next contract negotiation could be with Jauan Jennings, and the recent extension for Rashod Bateman may be what they have in mind for the wideout.
The 49ers are done with their significant business in terms of contract extensions after quickly moving to get George Kittle, Brock Purdy and Fred Warner tied to long-term deals.
Though Trent Williams and Kyle Juszczyk are set to be free agents in 2027 — with both potential candidates for retirement following the 2026 season — the 49ers don’t have a prospective contract saga with a star player on the horizon.
However, they do have a decision to make regarding one of their most reliable weapons on offense.
Jauan Jennings signed a two-year extension last offseason coming off a hugely impressive performance in Super Bowl 58 and subsequently produced the best season of his career, with only a bizarre ejection in the Week 18 finale robbing him of a 1,00-yard campaign.
Jennings will be a free agent in 2026 and, while the 49ers probably won’t be focusing on getting him signed to a new deal in the immediate future as they concentrate on getting ready for the 2025 season, they will eventually need to decide whether to get out in front of his pending free agency and enter negotiations with his camp.
San Francisco last November signed Deommodore Lenoir to an in-season extension, signing the cornerback to a long-term deal before he had a chance to hit the market.
Set to turn 28 next month, Jennings’ 2026 free agency would represent his first and probably last opportunity to cash in and earn a lucrative contract following his hugely impressive rise from seventh-round pick to a now very dependable WR2.
The prospect of Jennings doing as Lenoir did and signing an extension in season likely hinges on three factors. The first two are his desire to do so, and his play on the field. These are obvious and they are linked. If Jennings wants to learn his value on the open market, then he won’t have any interest in signing an extension during the season, and his value in free agency will be much higher if he thrives again as he did in 2024.
But the third factor doesn’t concern the performance of Jennings, but that of his teammates. The 49ers have invested heavily in the wide receiver position in recent drafts, taking Ricky Pearsall in the first round last year and taking Jacob Cowing (2024) and Jordan Watkins (2025) with fourth-round selections, with the latter already receiving hype from Purdy for his performance in OTAs.
Pearsall, Cowing and Watkins are of a different mold to Jennings. They are smaller and shiftier, with the latter duo possessing the speed to take the top off defenses.
But if Pearsall and one of Cowing or Watkins shines and make prominent contributions in 2025, it could decrease the 49ers’ motivation to make a concerted effort to keep Jennings around.
Still right now it is difficult to see the 49ers not wanting to re-sign Jennings, given his prowess in clutch situations and his outstanding play as a blocker.
And they received a potential blueprint for another Jennings extension this week when the Baltimore Ravens signed 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman to a new three-year deal.
Bateman inked a deal worth $36.75 million with $20 million guaranteed. The average annual value of his extension is $12.25 million.
Having underwhelmed a first-round pick, Bateman’s numbers are markedly similar to those of Jennings.
A 2024 season in which he went for a career-high 756 receiving yards and racked up nine touchdowns inflated Bateman’s numbers through the first four seasons of a career that has endured several injury-related disruptions to 1,923 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The yardage number is slightly below the 1,938 receiving yards recorded by Jennings, who also had 13 regular-season touchdowns in his career. Bateman, however, has been the slightly more efficient receiver in terms of yards per reception, averaging 13.9 to Jennings’ 12.5.
With their close proximity in terms of numbers, the 49ers could consider an offer of $12.25 million a year to be a fair one for Jennings. It would not see him earn anywhere close to top of the market money, but it would still represent a considerable increase on the two-year, $15.4 million extension he signed last year.
On the other hand, Jennings could point to advanced numbers that point to him being superior to Bateman. He averaged 2.5 yards per route run to Bateman’s 1.9 last year and finished 20th in total Expected Points Added among wide receivers last season. He was eight spots ahead of Bateman despite running 372 routes to Bateman’s 387.
With his added value in the blocking game and his previous history of coming up huge in clutch moments in both the regular season and the postseason, a strong first half of the 2025 season may put Jennings in a position to command a good deal more than Bateman’s average annual salary.
Still, if and when the 49ers come to the negotiating table with Jennings’ representatives, Bateman’s contract could be the one they seek to work towards.