Getty Nick Bosa, 49ers
It would be nice, of course, if the Niners could simply come to an agreement, make defensive lineman Nick Bosa the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, and turn the focus to Week 1. But Bosa’s holdout has continued to drag on now through the entire slate of preseason games, to now just 12 days before the start of the NFL season.
And, according to one league insider, there has not been much progress made between Bosa and the team.
“They’re not there yet and I don’t get the sense they’re close at all. So, I don’t get the sense anything is imminent,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on The Pat McAfee Show. “But at least they’re, you know, it sounds like there’s been some level of conversation.”
Bosa has been a Pro Bowl player all three seasons he has been healthy (he played only two games in his second year), and led the NFL with 18.5 sacks in 2022, when he was named AP Defensive Player of the Year. He led the league in tackles for loss in 2021.
At least one reporter–Jason Dumas of KNBR sports–is reporting a deal should come soon, perhaps even, “in the next couple of days.”
Nick Bosa Holdout Was Expected to Drag
It’s long been predicted that Bosa’s holdout could be one that drags on, for a few reasons. For one, there have been ample other holdouts across the league, and it was presumed that Bosa might not settle his next deal until those situations resolved themselves.
For another thing, Bosa is seeking to be the highest-paid defensive lineman in the NFL, which would mean beating out the $31.7 million being paid to Aaron Donald of the Rams. Currently, Bosa is slated to earn $17.9 million in 2024.
Another factor is that the daily fines that Bosa is incurring probably won’t have much of an impact on him. Those fines were put into the current collective bargaining agreement to bring a quicker end to holdouts, but when a payer is holding out on his rookie contract—as Bosa is—all that money is eligible to be returned by the team once a deal is reached.
Kyle Shanahan Said He Was Not Worried About Nick Bosa’s Holdout
Yet another reason: Bosa is in good physical shape and, as coach Kyle Shanahan discussed last month in camp, he will have little trouble being plugged back into the lineup as soon as his deal is finalized.
“No, not at all,” Shanahan told reporters when asked whether the Bosa holdout situation was stressful. “Because I don’t know if Bosa has ever done a training camp and he has done pretty good.
“It’s a little different when you’re a defensive lineman. Everybody wants people here and you want to do that stuff, but it doesn’t affect the team as much from a defensive end standpoint. I have as much confidence in Nick as any player I’ve ever been around in terms of how he prepares and everything.”
That is a sentiment that still holds, Rapoport said.
“There’s still is a lot of time,” he told McAfee. “I mean, I’m sure [Bosa] keeps himself in unbelievable shape. He’s not going to need a lot of like acclimation period, you know. So even if he shows up five days from now, I’m sure he’ll be ready for the season.”