After extending Brock Purdy and George Kittle this offseason, it looks like the San Francisco 49ers have another superstar to cross off the list. Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that “the 49ers are now very close to finalizing a multi-year contract extension with star linebacker Fred Warner.”
Warner spoke with NBC at his ProCamps event this past Saturday: “I think it’s obviously worked out really well being able to knock those things out earlier. Allowing us to focus just purely on ball and getting better as a team, so things are moving in the right direction.”
The goal appears to be to get this deal out of the way as soon as possible and get the attention back on the field. So, why should the 49ers extend the best linebacker in the NFL?
Fred Warner’s Current Contract
An interesting part of Warner getting extended this offseason is that he still has two years left on his deal. It’s a bit early to add on years for a player that will be 30 years old in the next calendar year. However, Warner is a pillar of the Niners defense and a new deal makes sense once you look at his contract.
Warner holds a $29.1 million cap hit this season and a $26.7 million hit for 2026. These numbers are substantial and the Niners likely want to lower them. Extending him also means that your superstar backer will be around for a few more years. Not a bad idea to extend him.
Potential New Deal
Right now, Fred Warner is the second highest paid linebacker in the NFL behind Roquan Smith. He signed his 5-year, $95 million contract back in 2021 and it’s time for a re-up. It’s practically a lock that Warner will jump Roquan in terms of AAV (average annual value). Doing this would put his deal over $20 million per year. That’s still lower than both of his 2025 and 2026 cap hits. The goal for the 49ers is simple: spread the cap hits out by adding additional years onto his deal.
For Warner’s side, he’s trying to increase his overall guarantees and potential money. In a league, where a career can unfortunately end at any moment, this is a priority for any player.
Putting all the factors into play, we should expect Warner’s contract to range from $20-23 million per season, with 3-4 years added on. Warner’s goal should be for at least half of the money to be guaranteed, which would be an improvement upon his current contract.
49ers Team Building Strategy
This free agency period was a bit unusual because it felt like the 49ers cut multiple players to save money. In reality, they were re-allocating to sign the big fish. Once the 49ers secure this deal with Warner, they will have locked up all of their star players.
Instead of going out and overpaying for free-agents, the Niners have proved their intentions to build internally. Obviously, there are cases where key talent came into the building via free agency and trades, but the vast majority of the Niners roster was drafted. They want to take care of their own guys and this offseason has been a prime example of that.
