Maybe this was why the 49ers struggled all season long.
As bad as some teams had it this year, nobody envies the kind of season that the San Francisco 49ers had in 2024. To have basically the same team from a year ago, which got very close to a Super Bowl win, not even make the playoffs, is extremely frustrating.
By midseason, the 49ers had a .500 record, and you had to believe that they would be able to swing momentum back in their favor.
Unfortunately, it may have been a little too late.
The 49ers finished dead last in the NFC West at 6-11. Back in September, nobody thought that would ever be what is being written about them this season.
Their offense is a team of guys who have gone the distance before. They're a championship-caliber unit; however, hardly any of their star players were ever on the same field with one another this season.
You don't want to blame things on injuries; there always needs to be a 'next man up' mentality on the sidelines when a starter goes down. But when key players on this roster like Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Brandon Aiyuk are not out there every Sunday, it's going to be an uphill battle.
None of those players mentioned above were ever on the field at the same time in 2024.
An article by Matt Maiocco at NBC Sports Bay Area states that "In 2023, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, and Deebo Samuel combined to score 40 touchdowns. This season, they combined for just four touchdowns—all coming from Deebo Samuel."
Samuel played a total of 14 games, excluding the game in which he played only four snaps before leaving due to an illness that ended up resulting in pneumonia. Aiyuk and McCaffrey played in 11 games; neither of those three saw action at the same time.
If you wanted to root against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs this season, even if you're not from the West Coast, there's a chance you banked on the 49ers to compete once again come February.
Now, you need to look elsewhere.
Kyle Shanahan's face reflects the stress of the season and the lack of star players. Even the press conference he held this year looked as if he was battling through one set of bad news after another.
If anything, taking a losing year is what the 49ers needed. They've been in contention for the Super Bowl for the last half-decade; those are long seasons. This may be how you push the reset button and prepare to compete again.
The NFL suffered a modest decline in viewership after a 2023 ratings boom.
While much of the conversation surrounding declining viewership in sports has centered around the NBA in recent months, the NFL actually suffered a modest two-percent decline in its year-over-year viewership from 2023.
Despite this blip, the NFL continues to hold a tremendous grip over the American media landscape, with 187 million individuals watching at least one game in 2024 while an average regular-season matchup attracted 17.5 million viewers. The league's viewership also compares favorably to recent seasons after a ratings boom in 2023, with 2024 proving the NFL's second-highest ratings year since 2016.
Among the 100 most-viewed television programs in the United States this year, 90 were NFL games, the most popular of which were aired during the league's hallowed Thanksgiving Day slate despite a pair of unappealing matchups. The league's most popular game, an NFC East divisional rivalry between New York and Dallas, pulled in 38.8 million, while Chicago and Detroit met from opposite ends of the NFC North standings later in the day before a television audience of 37.5 million. Outside of Turkey Day, it was the Kansas City Chiefs, back-to-back Super Bowl champions and 2024 regular-season winners, who expectedly dominated the ratings, participating in the next three most-watched games against fellow AFC foes Buffalo, Baltimore and Cincinnati respectively.
The NFL's media landscape looked notably different in 2024 as well, with longtime partners ESPN, CBS, NBC and FOX joined by an increasingly prominent Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, which broadcasted the NFL's Christmas Day action. In fact, Amazon Prime Video was the only NFL broadcast partner to enjoy an increase from last season's viewership.
Off the field, the addition of Jason Kelce proved shrewd for ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, enjoying a five-percent year-over-year increase in viewership despite the NFL's overall decline. Conversely, FOX slumped to the network's lowest NFL viewership totals since 2020 despite the $375 million addition of former NFL great and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady in the commentary booth.
Just about all NFL rookies are subject to some form of hazing, and this Niners wideout is no exception.
Whether it's the high school, college, or professional level, plenty of sports teams have rites of passage for their newest members. Some of these include team-related duties, like filling up water bottles, while others can be more elaborate or creative.
The NFL is no exception to this role, nor are the San Francisco 49ers in particular. Veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel decided to take the opportunity to mess with rookie Ricky Pearsall, a promising up-and-comer at the same position.
Check out the clip below, in which Samuel describes an amusing prank he played on the fan-favorite rookie wideout.
A rookie dinner is a time honored tradition in the NFL, as first-year players are asked to commit a considerable chunk of their smaller-than-league average paychecks to treat their position group to a nice evening out, but Samuel's twist on the event was a clever one. A tab of several thousand dollars for food and drinks is already a steep one for a young player just getting started in the league, but nearly tripling the amount would make any rookie's eyes widen.
Jacob Cowing, a fourth-round draft pick in 2024 who has had a more limited role than has Pearsall, was the other rookie receiver who fell victim to Samuel's antics. Luckily, the final bill was one that the two young players could afford with relative comfort, even if it's a bit more than they would usually spend on a night out with friends.
Pearsall made about 2.3 million dollars this year, while Cowing made under a million, as per the rookie deals for their draft slots. After taking out some cash for taxes, they still walked home with a very solid year of income, but not nearly as much as the paychecks received by the other players for whom they purchased dinner.
