John Lynch Explains Why the NFL Sanctioned the 49ers

"We overpaid a player -- I'm not going to get into who the players was -- by $75,000. It was a clerical error. "

ORLANDO -- John Lynch was asked to go into detail about the multiple clerical errors that cost the 49ers a fifth-round pick in 2025. Here's what Lynch said.

LYNCH: "First of all, I have trememndous respect for our league and our commissioner. I have a difference of opinion on the severity of the discipline. We take accountability for what happened. We overpaid a player -- I'm not going to get into who the player was -- by $75,000. It was a clerical error. This was back in the Covid Era and there was a new system in place. It happened, we own our part, we've gone through a whole mitigation deal to remedy some of the issues that happened, but the league decided to impose that, so you take your medicine and you move on. We'll be good. You hate to lose a fifth-round pick next year -- the fifth round has been pretty good to us -- and a little adjustment to our fourth-round pick (this year). That's what the league decided to impose, and we accept it and move forward."

Q: Is there an appeal process?

LYNCH: "It was a negotiated settlement."

Q: Did the player keep the money?

LYNCH: "Yeah. Part of the issue without getting into the weeds is that we tried to recoup it without reporting it. That's where our culpability was. We've learned from that. We eventually did report it, but we kind of went down the road of trying to recoup and the player did what you think he'd do."