Frank Gore: Why 49ers Are Foolish To Extend Inconsistent Back

For the second day in a row, an aging player gets big bucks that will surely not fulfill their end of the bargain.

Yesterday Michael Vick cashed in big to the tune of six years and $100 million. Today, the San Francisco 49ers decided to throw $21 million at running back Frank Gore.

Here is profootballtalk.com with the details:

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The extension has $21 million in new money, with $13.5 million guaranteed. Coupled with his current deal, which pays out $4.9 million in 2011, Gore can earn $25.9 million over four years.

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Gore, who will be entering his seventh year in the league, had become increasingly frustrated with the team for not giving him his one last big payday.

That’s why this deal is terrible. Gore is 28 years old and is starting to show severe signs of aging.

The 5'9", 215 pound back is certainly not consistent. He’s played all 16 games only once in six NFL seasons including the five games he missed last year.

His speed is hard to ignore and averaging 4.7 yards per carry in his career is spectacular—but Gore’s numbers are slipping. He registered career lows with three TDs and 4.2 yards per carry average in 2010.

Aside from the ageless Ricky Williams who took multiple years off for various reasons, no back is productive after the age of 30.

Shaun Alexander is a perfect example. The former Seahawks great ran for an incredible 1,880 yards when he was 28. He couldn’t match those same numbers when combining the next three seasons.

How about Marshall Faulk, a player who put up five consecutive seasons of at least 1,000 yards rushing before losing it at the age of 29. His numbers shrank across the board in each of the next four seasons before deciding to retire.

Edgerrin James is another player to follow a similar pattern.

Odds are Gore will be following the same path. It’s already evident that Gore’s lost a step in the speed department and his agility isn’t what it used to be. He’s coming off his worst year as a pro and the 49ers wanted to reward him?

This is why the franchise has struggled for the past decade. They are throwing gobs of money at over-the-hill players at positions that are easy to replace.

Meanwhile, Alex Smith is still the starting quarterback.

They need to realize that some positions are more important than others and tying up $13 million in Gore is not a smart move, especially when he was already under contract for the 2011 season.

That’s why sunny San Francisco has had a dark cloud over its football team for quite some time now.