Why the 49ers Decided to Cut Spending so Drastically this Year

The past few seasons, they spent more than most teams in the NFL. Then with no explanation, they decided to cut their spending. That's what this offseason is all about.

Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers chief executive officer Jed York on the field before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

This week, the Philadelphia Eagles gave their starting center, Cam Jurgens, a four-year, $68 million extension.

Meanwhile, the 49ers are still negotiating extensions with Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Fred Warner and don't seem close to finalizing any of those deals any time soon. In addition, Davante Adams, who signed a two-year deal with the Rams this offseason, just called out the 49ers for lowballing him in free agency.

So why are the 49ers being cheap all of a sudden?

The past few seasons, they spent more than most teams in the NFL. Then with no explanation, they decided to cut their spending. That's what this offseason is all about.

Meanwhile, 49ers Enterprises recently purchased a Scottish soccer team called Rangers FC, plus they already own a British soccer team called Leeds United which just got promoted to the English Premier League.

To stay in the Premier League, 49ers Enterprises will have to acquire lots of good players and those players will cost lots of money. It will be interesting to see 49ers Enterprises ends up spending more money on soccer free agents than football free agents this year.

And it will be interesting to see if the 49ers are more aggressive in negotiations with soccer players than football players. Because they're making Purdy, Kittle and Warner sweat. As opposed to the Eagles, who extend their stars early in the offseason so other teams don't reset the market.

It's hard to say what the 49ers strategy is. It's just strange.