The 49ers have an abundance of exciting, young talent up and down their roster. The downside to that -- if there is one -- are the looming contracts they will have to dish out in order to keep all of their young talents.
Last offseason there was a "Pay George Kittle" campaign that made its way through social media before the 49ers and Kittle came to an agreement on a five-year extension. The next homegrown star in line for a big payday is linebacker Fred Warner.
After a very busy offseason, the 49ers find themselves with a little bit of financial flexibility heading into offseason workouts.
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With over $17 million in reported salary cap space, is "Pay Fred Warner" the next campaign to come?
Warner, who was drafted in 2018, one year after Kittle, is next in line for an extension. The BYU product consistently has been one of the best linebackers in all of football and is set to compete with Indianapolis linebacker Darius Leonard for the next big contract at the position.
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NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported that the Colts and Leonard are in discussions regarding a new contract that could challenge the $18 million per year benchmark given to Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner in 2019.
In regards to Warner and the 49ers, Rapoport has not heard of any conversations regarding an extension for the star linebacker.
“[The San Francisco 49ers] would like to lock up [Fred] Warner who could eclipse Bobby Wagner," Rapoport said. "Those two sides have not started yet, but it’s going to see the timing of Darius Leonard and Warner to see who goes first in getting paid.”
San Francisco 49ers
Warner is an unrestricted free agent after the 2021 season, so a record-setting extension could be right around the corner.