The San Francisco 49ers are big on building through the draft, and that can lead to several team-friendly contracts for some young up-and-coming NFL stars. Now and then, you miss on a high draft pick, though. The Reuben Foster selection in 2017 forced the 49ers to spend big on Kwon Alexander when the team was forced to part ways with the troubled young linebacker.
The emergence of another young linebacker may have made up for that, though. San Francisco made Fred Warner a third-round draft pick a year after the Foster selection, and that rookie contract has been named the team's best-value by Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski.
You may be thinking, now wait a minute — the 49ers have other young stars on team-friendly deals like All-Pro tight end George Kittle and the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Nick Bosa. Sobleski, however, points to Kittle needing an extension soon — one that will make him the highest-paid tight end in football — and the fact that Bosa was a first-round pick. The latter means cap hits of $7.7 million, $9.3 million, and $10.7 million over the next three seasons, according to Spotrac.
"Warner's salary-cap hit won't exceed $1.3 million [over the next two years]," writes Sobleski. "The linebacker led the 49ers' elite defense with 118 total tackles. He also managed seven tackles for loss, three sacks, nine defended passes and three forced fumbles."
Warner will count just $1.1 million against the salary cap in 2020. That's a bargain for the 49ers' leading tackler last season.
Adds Sobleski: "He's quite affordable over the next two seasons despite being one of the game's best young off-ball linebackers."