After extending George Kittle and Brock Purdy, the 49ers are poised to do the same with Fred Warner
The 49ers are closing in on their third big-time contract extension of the offseason.
Having avoided long drawn out sagas with George Kittle and, more crucially, Brock Purdy, the 49ers are reported by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan to be very close to finalizing an extension with All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner.
Warner still has two years remaining on his current deal, but an extension would be justified reward for a player who has long since been the gold standard at the position. Not only would an extension serve as recognition for his plentiful past accomplishments, it would also be a show of faith in Warner continuing his remarkable level of consistency into his 30s — Warner will turn 29 in November.
The headline will almost certainly be Warner returning to the status of highest-paid linebacker in the NFL by average annual value. That title currently belongs to Roquan Smith at $20 million a year. Warner is close behind on $19.045 million and it would be a huge surprise if this deal does not take him over the $20 million barrier.
But, for the 49ers, the most important aspect of a Warner extension in the immediate future is the impact on his 2025 cap hit.
Warner is scheduled to count $29.1 million against the 49ers’ cap in 2025. He is set to receive a base salary of $17.65 million, per Over The Cap. Though the full details of the Purdy extension are not yet known, at the time of writing he is the only member of the 49ers’ roster set to earn a base salary of over $10 million. His closest challenger in that regard is Yetur Gross-Matos, who is set to earn a base salary of $7.39 million in the second season of his two-year deal.
An extension would likely see the 49ers lower that cap hit by moving money into future years, giving them flexibility that would be extremely useful for the upcoming season.
Without taking the Purdy contract into account, the 49ers have $42.9 million in cap space for the 2025 season — the second-most in the NFL.
Lowering Warner’s cap hit would add to that tally. While the 49ers will have designs on rolling over a large amount of their free space into 2026, having cap space potentially close to the $50 million mark gives them a huge amount of freedom to pursue significant trades at the deadline for a team that is still desperate to win now.
The 49ers’ focus has been on getting younger, and that will likely remain the case going forward. However, this is a team placing a lot of faith in experience as they target a return to Super Bowl contention, especially on the defensive line and in the secondary. If they see an opportunity for a trade that would help them significantly in such areas, the additional cap space Warner’s extension should enable them to pursue it.
In an offseason that could hardly be any more different from the one that preceded it in 2024, the 49ers will likely view the Warner extension as a win-win.