Jim Harbaugh, 49ers put off contract talks until end of season
San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York and head coach Jim Harbaugh have agreed to shelve contract talks until the end of the season, York said Thursday.
York told Yahoo! Sports Talk Live in an interview Thursday that the two men had agreed Wednesday to put off the potential distraction of contract-extension discussions until after the season.
“We actually just had this conversation yesterday,” York said, according to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. “Lots of people were talking to him about it. We just said, 'You know what, let's not do anything during the season. Let's sit down a week or so after the season is over and let everybody know we're not focused on anything that's off the field right now.'
“Jim and I will sit down a week or so after the season is over and we'll figure out where we go.”
York also said that he didn't worry about Harbaugh's value increasing in a situation in which the 49ers advanced to or won the Super Bowl. He said it would be a swell problem to have.
“Well, Jim's here for the next two years under contract,” he said. “And like I've said publicly and very loudly in the past, I hope he has the utmost leverage when we sit down and talk about his contract at the end of the season.
“It's a good thing. It's an unbelievable problem to have.”
Harbaugh is entering the fourth year of a five-year contract that gives him a base salary of $5 million. The 49ers have advanced to at least the NFC Championship game in each of Harbaugh's three seasons as coach, and one of those turned into a Super Bowl appearance. The tensions that boiled up earlier this offseason between Harbaugh and 49ers management have largely simmered.
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