49ers Continue to be a Circus in Contract Negotiations

For once, can't the 49ers get a contract extension done in a timely manner?

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (right) and head coach Kyle Shanahan (left) look on the in second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Voluntary OTAs are about to commence for the San Francisco 49ers.

With that comes the first benchmark in contract negotiations between the 49ers and Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Fred Warner.

According to The Athletic's Mike Silver, the 49ers have made some progress with Purdy, but are far apart with Kittle and haven't started anything with Warner.

1) Some reporting for @TheAthletic... The 49ers’ offseason program begins tomorrow, and there’s some uncertainty about whether players seeking new contracts—specifically QB Brock Purdy, TE George Kittle and LB Fred Warner—will show up for voluntary activities...

— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 21, 2025

The 49ers continue to be a circus in contract negotiations. This has all the makings of the 49ers not getting a deal done until July or August. And then, they'll regret it.

For once, can't the 49ers get a contract extension done in a timely manner?

The Eagles have extended several players already this offseason. One of them was Saquon Barkley, who wasn't even due for one.

Yet, the 49ers can't even extend just one of their guys. Extending a player before the summer just doesn't exist in their processing. It's unfathomable to them, which makes them a circus.

Speaking of the circus, the contract fallout with Brandon Aiyuk was one. He dealt with criticism due to his gimmicks with his holdout. And while some of it was immature, most of the blame rests on the 49ers.

They could've gotten out in front of an extension with Aiyuk early to avoid the nonsense. Instead, they sat on their hands until they got numb enough to the point they couldn't grip the offer sheet to hand to Aiyuk's agent.

That allowed an army of wide receivers to extend last offseason. It's like the 49ers didn't see that coming. If they were smart, they would've foresaw the receiver market exploding.

It made sense for them to take the initial loss in negotiations because they would've won in a matter of days or weeks when other receivers like Amon-Ra St. Brown were extended.

The 49ers do this to themselves. They are simply incompetent in this department. By far, their two greatest flaws since 2017 are drafting in the first round and contract extensions.

This is why they are penny-pinching in the first place. It is because of handing out contract extensions that they were uncomfortable with.

Now, the pushback is that it takes two to tango. So, it could be the player's fault. However, this happens all the time with the 49ers, no matter who the player is.

This is simply their circus show standard of how they do contract negotiations. It almost always burns them in the end. They are bound to do that to themselves again with Warner, Kittle, and possibly Purdy.