With Nick Bosa and the 49ers still discussing an extension, the star pass rusher’s potential new deal could reportedly hinge on a key component as the two sides work to find a resolution ahead of Week 1.
Bosa, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has been away from the team all offseason due to ongoing talks with team brass about a lucrative extension. Now, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the biggest factor of the negotiations is a difference of a few million dollars within the final terms.
Breer reported Thursday that, while Bosa is still set to become the highest-paid edge rusher, a gap of “less than $4 million per year” remains an outstanding issue the two sides have been “trying to bridge” for “a while now.”
While the difference may sound minuscule in layman’s terms, such a distinction will, per Breer, determine whether or not the 25-year-old Bosa will make history by becoming the highest-paid nonquarterback of all time.
According to Breer, the Niners are working on an artificial deadline of the start of the season to sign Bosa, whom both 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed won’t be available for trade any time soon.
As Bosa’s extended holdout continues, the 49ers, who open the season on Sept. 10, may end up taking negotiations with the 2019 NFL draft’s second pick down to the wire. If a deal isn’t reached, it’s more than likely the club will have a massive hole to fill along its defensive line against the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Week 1.
