Nick Bosa Agrees to Record-Setting Contract with 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to a five-year contract extension with star edge rusher Nick Bosa, according to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Bosa’s deal will be worth $170 million, with $122.5 million in guaranteed money, and will pay him an average annual value of $34 million, which will make him the highest-paid defensive player and the highest-paid non-quarterback in all of football.

Bosa’s deal will eclipse the $33.5 million per season that Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald earns as the highest-paid defender. Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt had been the highest-paid edge rusher at just over $28 million per year.

Bosa will now likely suit up for the 49ers in their Week 1 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, though he missed the team’s first practice session of the week on Wednesday and has not been practicing with the team throughout training camp and the preseason.

Watt was in a similar situation in 2021, when he signed just days before the opener. He went on to have two sacks, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in the season opener against the Buffalo Bills and eventually set the NFL single-season sacks record that year.

The Steelers won’t be surprised by Bosa playing. Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that the team was preparing as if he would be in the lineup.

“We are preparing for Bosa,” Tomlin said. “It’s prudent for us to assume that he’s going to be there and prepare in that vein as opposed to being surprised.”

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“We were in a similar circumstance with a dynamic rusher a couple years ago in T.J. We got a deal done at the 11th hour. He showed up in the stadium and he was T.J. Watt that day. And so that’s what those guys do. They show up and they are who they are. And so we expect him to be there. It’s the prudent approach to take. And if he’s going to be there, we know the type of player that he intends on being. So that’s something to be dealt with.”

Bosa took Watt’s mantle as the best defensive player in the NFL in 2022. While the Steelers star was dealing with an injury, Bosa set a career high with 18.5 sacks, which led the entire NFL. He also had 19 tackles for loss, 48 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and 51 total tackles.

Bosa was so good, he finished sixth in MVP voting, in addition to being the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and earning All-Pro, All-NFL and Pro Bowl nods.