The San Francisco 49ers and linebacker Fred Warner agreed this offseason to a 3-year, $63 million contract extension, including $56.7 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL .
Here are the key details:
Term & value: 3 years, $63 million
Guarantees: $56.7 million guaranteed, with $20.3 million of that being new money .
Average salary: $21 million per year — topping the previous LB market on par with Roquan Smith .
Cap structure: Backloaded deal that includes a $16.4M signing bonus, a $21M option bonus in 2026, and void years to ease salary cap management .
⭐ Warner’s Impact & Context:
A four-time First-Team All-Pro and consistent defensive leader since entering the league in 2018 .
The deal follows major extensions for Brock Purdy ($265 M over 5 years) and George Kittle ($76.4 M over 4 years) .
Positioned to anchor a revamped defense for 2025, after restructuring past cap hits that were unsustainable ($29M+ in 2025) .
—
Would you like a breakdown of how this affects the 49ers’ salary cap, its impact on their defensive strategy, or how Warner ranks compared to other elite NFL linebackers?
