Report: The 49ers are $4 million apart in negotiations with Nick Bosa

Over the Cap as the 49ers sitting around $8.4 million in cap space a week ahead of the regular season. Our resident salary cap guru, Jason Hurley, has the Niners over the cap by $1.94 million. That includes all 78 players, but it’s worth noting that Nick Bosa may not count against the cap since he’s not reported yet.

Bosa’s contract extension should have a significant effect on the Niners cap, but not in a way most would think. Over the Cap has a Bosa extension saving the 49ers north of $13.4 million in 2023.

But, for now, the team is up against the cap. Which is part of the reason they were willing to trade their 23-year-old quarterback.

Bosa’s contract extension should help the team next year, too. San Francisco has done a brilliant job in protecting themselves in the first two years of new contract extensions. Now, this is new territory, and Bosa is expected to set records. But the 49ers can still give Bosa what he wants, like a $40 million signing bonus, and still have Bosa’s cap number in the mid to low teens, which is cheaper than what it would be in 2023.

Fred Warner’s record-setting contract, albeit for a linebacker, didn’t see a jump in cap number until Year 3. The same is true for Arik Armstead’s contract and George Kittle’s new deal.

Hopefully, we’ll find out the details about Bosa’s extension soon enough. Week 1 is right around the corner.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Bosa and the Niners are trying to meet in the middle as the two are $4 million apart in negotiations:

We can start with Nick Bosa, who isn’t going anywhere for a long time. The question is whether he’s going to be the highest-paid nonquarterback of all time—he’ll be the highest-paid edge rusher. The difference between the two distinctions is less than $4 million per year, and the Niners and Bosa’s people have been trying to bridge that gap for a while now. They have an artificial deadline coming (the start of the season), and at some point something almost has to get done. It’s when, not if.