Matt Maiocco is reporting that the 49ers have an "offer on the table" to upcoming free agent Alex Smith. This does not really qualify as "shocking" news as negotiations have reportedly been underway for some time now. There have been reports the 49ers were looking for a two or three year deal at $8M to $10M per year. There are other reports that Alex and his agent, Tom Condon, are looking for something on the order of what Ryan Fitzpatrick got from Buffalo last year.
Assuming a deal gets done as most of the free world expects, make sure and wait for the details before crushing any large-sounding deal. After all, as we saw from Ahmad Brooks deal, it is very easy to make a six year, $44.5 million contract extension really a bunch of one year deals stacked together. I would hope for a contract that includes plenty of incentives and escalators tied to player performance and team performance. After all, if the 49ers are winning Super Bowls, they could paying be paying Alex $100 million dollars and I really would not care less.
At the end of the day, Paraag Marathe has shown he can handle contract negotiations with the best of them. I would imagine part of the reason this is taking some time is the fact that it is going to be a potentially complicated deal involving a variety of bonuses, incentives and escalators that provide both sides with security and outs.