Davante Adams Says the 49ers Lowballed him in Free Agency

I guess you get what you pay for.

New York Jets wide receiver Davante Adams (17) walks off the field after the game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jets held off the Jaguars 32-25. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If the 49ers really wanted Davante Adams, it seems like they could have had him this offseason.

Adams was a free agent and he's from the Bay Area -- he went to Palo Alto High School. And he recently told The Athletic's Mike Silver that his agent and the 49ers had discussions about Adams coming home and joining the 49ers.

"I was entertaining the Niners," Adams said, "but they were like, 'We're paying wholesale. We ain't paying retail.' I didn't talk to them, but that's what my agent told me — like five times, that quote. And I was like, 'OK, well, I'm not a wholesale-type dude.'"

Adams eventually signed a two-year, $44 million contract with the Rams who aren't afraid to pail retail, apparently.

Meanwhile, the 49ers signed the Rams' No. 3 receiver from last year, Demarcus Robinson, who likely will be suspended for the first few games of 2025, to a two-year, $8 million deal. There's your wholesale wide receiver.

I guess you get what you pay for.

In retrospect, there was no chance the 49ers would land Adams. They're simply not spending big money on anyone but their own players this offseason. They shouldn't even have wasted his time. They're not seriously trying to contend for a Super Bowl this year. They know their window is closed and they're trying to position themselves for contention in 2026.

Look for the 49ers to draft a wide receiver in the first few rounds of this week's draft. They've drafted at least one wide receiver every year except one since Kyle Shanahan became the head coach in 2017.