Frank Gore Plans to Sign 1-Day Contract with 49ers to Retire; Eyes Front-Office Role

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After going unsigned during the 2021 NFL season, Frank Gore is officially retiring.

The five-time Pro Bowler said he plans to sign a one-day contract this offseason with the San Francisco 49ers before officially walking away for good.

"Probably in a couple months," Gore said in an Instagram Live stream with Bovada. "We're still trying to figure out when I'm going to do my one-day contract, to sign, do my retirement. I told Jed York that I always wanted to be a Niner. So we're working on that right now, and then we're going to also sit down with me and my agent to talk about me working in the front office. I love looking at talent. I love evaluating talent, and I love ball. And they know that I know football players, what it's supposed to take to be a football player."

Gore, 38, spent his first 10 NFL seasons with the 49ers after being taken in the third round of the 2005 draft. He then spent three years with the Indianapolis Colts before finishing his career with one-year runs with the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.

A bastion of consistency and health over the course of his career, Gore missed only 15 games in 16 seasons. He is third on the NFL's all-time leading rushers list with 16,000 yards, and his 241 games played are the most ever by a running back.

Aside from a potential front-office stint, Gore will now wait a few years to see whether he'll wear a gold jacket. His long-term consistency makes him a seeming lock for Canton, but it'd be fair to say he was never dominant at the NFL level. He moved the chains, often in chunks of four or five yards a pop, and kept his body healthy enough to be on the field.

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The Hall is filled with players who had shorter but flashier careers. Gore's candidacy will illuminate how much the committee values longevity over burning bright.