The San Francisco 49ers are having one of the most interesting offseasons in recent memory, taking care of their own players while letting a significant amount of talent depart. The latest major move by the 49ers involved standout linebacker Fred Warner, who inked a contract extension that made him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL.
The Warner extension was the second major move the 49ers completed over the last four days, inking Brock Purdy to a massive contract extension that made him one of the seven highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. San Francisco also signed George Kittle to a contract extension in April.
Prior to these extensions, the 49ers watched other teams sign their players in free agency. Teams spent $319 million on the 49ers’ free agents, the most money spent on a team’s departing free agents in NFL history. The 49ers spent $56 million on free agents, while other teams spent $319 million on their free agents — the $264 million spending deficit is teh largest in NFL history.
This doesn’t include the 49ers trading Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a 2025 fifth-round pick, basically a salary dump to get out of his contract. The 49ers lost a significant amount of talent, but retained core players in the process to keep their competitive window open.
How did the 49ers fare with their major offseason moves? The grades are an indicator of how the front office is performing in 2025.
Fred Warner extension: A+
An extension was long overdue for Warner, who was still one of the highest-paid linebackers in the NFL prior to the extension (and Warner signed his massive five-year, $95 million extension in 2021). This extension was a slight raiser for Warner, who’s average annual salary goes up from $19.045 million to $21 million, basically just making him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL again.
🏈 Highest-paid inside linebackers in NFL
| Player | Team | AAV (Annual Average Value) |
|---|---|---|
| Fred Warner | San Francisco 49ers | $21.0M |
| Roquan Smith | Baltimore Ravens | $20.0M |
| Tremaine Edmunds | Chicago Bears | $18.0M |
| Zack Baun | Philadelphia Eagles | $17.0M |
A slight raise for arguably the best linebacker in the NFL was an easy decision. Warner is still only 28 and is coming off three consecutive First Team All-Pro seasons. Warner is one of four linebackers with 130+ tackles in each of the last three seasons and one of two linebackers with multiple seasons of 130+ tackles and 2+ linebackers over the last three seasons.
The 49ers will get excellent value out of this extension, which will keep Warner with the organization until 2029.
Brock Purdy extension: C+
The 49ers made a questionable decision in signing Purdy to a five-year, $265 million extension, although they were in a pickle no matter what decision they made. San Francisco could have either paid Purdy heading into the last year of his rookie contract or moved on and signed another quarterback this offseason.
They decided to pay Purdy significantly more than what he’s worth. When Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle all played, Purdy was 17-4 and threw 38 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. In any other game, Purdy was 10-11 with 30 touchdowns to 18 interceptions — a significant drop off.
NFL’s highest-paid QBs: Brock Purdy joins Top 10, Dak Prescott remains highest-paid per year
Zachary Pereles
When the 49ers are tied or trailing in the second half, Purdy has thrown nine touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Purdy is a great quarterback when he’s ahead (61 touchdowns to 13 interceptions), but struggles from behind. He isn’t a quarterback that can bring a team to a come back victory often, but he also isn’t going to lose a game when the 49ers are ahead.
Purdy is a good quarterback, but the 49ers are now paying him to be elite. This could hurt the organization if Purdy doesn’t improve on some metrics, as he needs his star players healthy to shine.
George Kittle extension: A
Hard to believe Kittle is 31 years old, but the 49ers tight end has essentially been elite since he’s entered the league. A complete tight end, Kittle seems to get better with age — which is a reason why the 49ers decided to give him a four-year, $76.4 million extension in April.
There’s an argument to be made Kittle is still underpaid with a $19.1 million average annual salary — and he’s the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. An All-Pro in each of the last three years, Kittle is coming off a season which he had 78 catches for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns (14.2 yards per catch). His four 1,000-yard seasons trail only Travis Kelce (seven) for the most in NFL history.
Kittle is under contract until 2029, so this extension will take him for the entirety of his prime and until he’s 35-years-old. The 49ers could worry about a drop-off in production and injuries, but Kittle is still dominant when he’s on the field. The extension was more than justified.
Deebo Samuel trade: B+
This was an easy move to make for the 49ers, who should be rewarded for getting rid of Samuel’s contract in its final year. The 49ers owed Samuel $16.6 million in base salary in 2025 and no longer owed him any guaranteed money. They either had to give Samuel an extension or move on from the 29-year-old wideout.
San Francisco only received a 2025 fifth-round pick back, but Samuel’s salary was off the books. His production was declining prior to the deal, as Samuel averaged a career-low 53.6 scrimmage yards per game last season. Samuel averaged 77.7 scrimmage yards per game in the five seasons prior, with 11.6 yards per touch. That dropped to 8.7 in 2025.
Trading Samuel was to just get his contract off the books, allowing San Francisco to create cash to sign other key players to extensions. The 49ers will bank on Ricky Pearsall and Juwan Jennings to make up for Samuel’s production, two significantly cheaper options that have shown they can produce in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Are the 49ers better off in 2025?
The 49ers certainly have the top-end talent in the league to compete. Christian McCaffrey is still one of the best running backs in the game when healthy and Kittle is one of the elite tight ends in the game. Trent Williams is 36, but is still producing at a high level at offensive tackle. Brandon Aiyuk had a down year at wide receiver prior to his ACL injury that ended his season, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll return to his 2023 level of play.
Nick Bosa is one of the best pass rushers in the game and Warner is arguably the top off-ball linebacker. Those two pieces are the core of a young defense that lost five starters in free agency. The 49ers’ first five draft picks in 2025 where on the defensive side of the ball and they have in-house replacements from the 2024 draft class to replace the free agents lost.
San Francisco has the easiest strength of schedule in the NFL this season (.415) and has its core players under contract. If McCaffrey can stay healthy and Aiyuk can replicate the deep-ball form that got him paid last offseason, the 49ers can certainly compete for the NFC West title in 2025. Currently, the 49ers are +175 to win the division, per FanDuel Sportsbook, which has longer odds on the 49ers than other books. The Rams are the slight favorite at +170.
Are the 49ers one of the Super Bowl contenders? That remains to be seen. San Francisco isn’t facing a Super Bowl hangover this year, at least.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings