Nick Bosa: 'I Haven't Thought About' Potential 49ers Contract Extension Yet
January 31, 2022
Nick Bosa is one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL and will likely be paid like one, but the San Francisco 49ers defensive end wasn't thinking about the contract extension he is eligible for while helping lead his team to the NFC Championship Game.
"I haven't thought about that," he said, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN. "I was just trying to finish up the year and have a great year. That's definitely something for down the road to think about."
San Francisco made Bosa one of the cornerstones of the defense when it selected him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft, and he wasted no time making an impact as the Defensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler behind nine sacks.
That 49ers team also reached the Super Bowl and appeared primed to compete for the Lombardi Trophy in his second season only to be derailed by injuries.
Bosa was one of those injuries, as he played just two games because of a torn ACL. That left him as something of a question mark coming into the 2021 campaign, but he responded with a career year of 52 tackles, 15.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and an NFL-best 21 tackles for loss on his way to a second Pro Bowl selection.
The Ohio State product is also just 24 years old and could be even better in 2022 and beyond as he puts his torn ACL further in the rearview mirror.
The question now is how much the 49ers will pay Bosa, especially after the Pittsburgh Steelers and T.J. Watt agreed to a head-turning, four-year, $112 million contract extension with $80 million guaranteed ahead of the 2021 season.
Watt lived up to expectations as the highest-paid defensive player in football this past season, but he also reset the market at the position.
"There is a very good chance that Bosa will be the first non-quarterback to command a deal worth $30 million a season, and with the NFL salary cap expected to explode in 2023, the 49ers likely will look to lock Bosa up long term next summer, paying the star defensive end handsomely for what they expect will be a very productive prime," Josh Schrock of NBC Sports wrote in September after Watt's deal.
It could be quite the lucrative offseason for the 49ers star.