Is this 49ers superstar officially overpaid?

One person thinks so.

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Nick Bosa is one of the best players on the San Francisco 49ers, and if they do make a Super Bowl run this season, the presence of Bosa will be one of the biggest reasons why. However, the question entering the 2025 season for the former All-Pro pass rusher is whether or not he has entered the stage of being overpaid. 

Is Nick Bosa overpaid with the San Francisco 49ers?

Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report picked his All-Overpaid team, and Bosa joined Montez Sweat as the two most overpaid edge rushers. 

The fact is, the five-time Pro Bowler has been a first-team All-Pro just once. That 2022 season was also his only campaign with an approximate value above 12 (the teens are usually reserved for the top handful of players at the edge defender position), and it was one of only two seasons on his resume with 12-plus sacks.

The soon-to-be 28-year-old has forced just three fumbles the last two years after forcing six during the preceding two seasons. Right now, it looks as though he peaked when registering 34 of his 62.5 career sacks in 2021 and 2022, but he remains the highest-paid edge in the league in terms of total contract value.

Brad Gagnon

First, this comes off a bit flawed when discussing total contract value. Nick Bosa is 28 years old and signed his deal two years ago, at age 26. So, the years of the contract are going to be longer than Myles Garrett, who just signed a new deal at age 30, or TJ Watt, who just signed a new deal at age 31. Watt signed a three-year deal, Garrett signed a four-year deal, and Bosa signed a five-year deal. Of course, Bosa had a higher total value. 

Parsons just passed Bosa in total contract value because he signed a longer deal at age 26. This is not the way to look at a contract; all it tells us is that Bosa signed his deal at a younger age. 

Bosa signed a deal that has an average value of $34M per year. Parsons just rocketed the market at $46.5M per year, and Watt and Garrett both signed extensions this summer that has them at $40M and up. These guys are not on a tier with Bosa anymore.

Bosa is closer to Maxx Crosby, who is at $35.5M per year, and Danielle Hunter, who is at $35.6M per year. Bosa does have more sacks than Crosby and Hunter since they have all been in the NFL. However, the article does state that the reason Bosa is overpaid is that his last two seasons are not good enough. 

This is a bit of a stronger point. Bosa has 19.5 sacks in the last two seasons, while Crosby is at 22 and Hunter is at 28.5. Bosa has the least amount of tackles and tackles for loss over that span, and he is second in force fumbles. Bosa does have more pressures than these two over the last two years, according to PFF, and considering they both make slightly more than Bosa, it is a bit disappointing to see Bosa fall off a bit, but to say he is the most overpaid seems a bit of a stretch as well. 

TJ Watt had 5.5 sacks during an injury-filled year 28 season and bounced back with 19 sacks at age 29. Bosa is young enough to live up to the final years of his contract.