49ers mandatory minicamp kicks off to wrap up offseason workout program

The San Francisco 49ers are going to wrap up their offseason workout program this week, as they partake in a three-day mandatory minicamp. The minicamp runs June 11-13, and as the "mandatory" says, all veterans and rookies are required to attend. The OTAs over the past month were technically voluntary, but the 49ers use workout bonuses as a way to get players to attend. Tarell Brown worked out exclusively at home the last month, but will be in attendance when minicamp gets going. Jonathan Goodwin was the other player to spend a lot of time working out on his own, but he too is expected at minicamp.

All three days of the minicamp will be open to the media, after only having one day per set of OTAs over the last month. The practices will be closed to cameras at the start of team drills, but otherwise the media will have the run of the place. This also means there will be a variety of media availability, which provides us with all sorts of fodder for discussion. Here is a rundown of the daily availability (all times pacific):

Tuesday
Noon: Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman
Following Harbaugh: Selected players

Wednesday
Noon: Jim Harbaugh, Vic Fangio
Following Harbaugh: Selected players

Thursday
Noon: Selected players
After practice (5:30 p.m.): Jim Harbaugh

The collective bargaining agreement spells out the details related to the minicamp in Article 22. The team is allowed to run two-a-day practices for two of the three days, but as with the rest of the offseason program, they are not allowed to have contact work (live blocking, tackling, pass rushing, bump-and-run).

Here is a rundown of what the CBA says about minicamps:

Article 22 - Mini-Camps:

Section 1. Number: Each League Year each Club may hold a maximum of one manda­tory minicamp for veteran players. If a Club hires a new head coach after the end of the prior regular season, that Club may hold one additional voluntary minicamp for veteran players. Any mandatory minicamp for veteran players shall count as one of the nine
weeks of the Club's official offseason workout program under Article 21, Section 2(a) of this Agreement. There is no limitation on the number of minicamps a Club may hold for Rookie players during the seven weeks of the Club's Rookie Football Development Program.

Section 2. Mandatory Veteran Minicamp: No mandatory veteran minicamp may exceed three days in length, plus one day for physical examinations. The minicamp must be conducted during the week (Monday through Friday), with physicals taking place on Monday but no practice or workouts on that day, practices on Tuesday through Thurs­day and a day off on Friday. The minicamp must be conducted during week three or week four of Phase Three of the Club's offseason workout program. The Phase Three rules set forth in Article 21, Section 2(b)(iii) of this Agreement shall apply to all mini­camp activities. Two-a-day practices shall be permitted at two of the three practice days of the Club's one mandatory minicamp, subject to the following rules: (i) players may be on the field for a total of no more than three and one-half hours per day; (ii) players may participate in one practice for no more than two and one-half hours of on-field activities under Phase Three rules; (iii) the second practice may only be for the remaining portion of the players' daily three and one-half hour on-field activities and shall be limited to walk-through instruction only; (iv) no organized team activities (including treatment and taping) may begin prior to 7:00am local time or end after 8:30pm local time, and players shall be given at least one hour for lunch and dinner each; (v) players may only be asked to participate in Club activities for a maximum of ten hours per day including taping and treatment but excluding meal time. The on-field time limits described above shall begin as soon as position coaches begin to coach players on the field.

Section 4. Expenses:
(a) Any veteran player who attends a minicamp will receive meal allowances in accordance with Article 34, Section 1 of this Agreement, plus all travel expenses to and from the camp, plus "per diem" payments at the rate provided in Article 23, Section 4 of this Agreement. In addition, the Club will provide housing at minicamps for players coming from out-of-town.

(b) If a "first-year player" (as defined as in Article 23, Section 1) signed a Player Contract with any Club for the prior League Year, he shall receive, for each day that he attends minicamp, the following compensation, but no other compensation: (i) the prorated portion of the weekly per diem specified for the current League Year (as set forth in Article 23, Section 3); (ii) the meal allowance specified for the current League Year (as set forth in Article 34, Section 1); and (ii)i all travel expenses to and from the camp, plus housing (for players coming from out-of-town).

(c) Any "rookie player" (defined as a person who has never signed a Player Contact with an NFL Club in a prior League Year) shall not be entitled to compensation for his participation in any minicamp, other than the reimbursements or payments per­ mitted under the Club's Rookie Orientation Program.

Section 5. Contact: There will be no contact work (e.g., "live" blocking, tackling, pass rushing, bump-and-run) or use of pads (helmets permitted) at minicamps.