There is a lot of uncertainty in the NFL's future. I'm not just talking about training camp or the upcoming season. Yes, the preseason games have been eliminated. No, we don't know if the season will be played in its entirety. Although, the league is, perhaps dangerously, pushing forward to play amidst a pandemic.
There is a lot of uncertainty in the years ahead, too. No one knows how an unprecedented season like this one will impact the league financially. Will there be the money for teams to retain their most-talented players? What happens if he salary cap drops significantly?
There are so many questions and far fewer answers.
These uncertainties are part of the reasons why San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle doesn't have a contract extension. They are part of the reasons why the team's leading rusher, Raheem Mostert, couldn't negotiate more money out of San Francisco.
Bleacher Report recently named San Francisco among the teams that have the most work to do before the start of the season. The financial futures of Kittle and Mostert, key contributors in the team's impressive Super Bowl run last season, are seen as items that the 49ers need to address.
Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report points out that Kittle is set to earn $2.133 million this year. That is good enough to tie for 36th among tight ends while his salary cap hit of $2.208 million ranks 41st at his position.
Sobleski believes Kittle's situation needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. Since the 49ers made him a fifth-round draft pick in 2017, Kittle has been named to two Pro Bowls, earned first-team All-Pro honors, and racked up over 1,000 yards receiving in each of his last two seasons, including a 1,377-yard campaign that saw him set a new NFL single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end.
Then you have Mostert, whose agent requested a trade when contract negotiations stalled. The running back obviously out-performed his contract last season, but he is barely entering the second year of the three-year deal he signed last offseason.
Mostert, who rushed for 772 yards last season, has since reached out to the 49ers to "clear the air," according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
"The ability to get everyone pulling the same direction will be a massive win for the 49ers this offseason," comments Sobleski.