49ers' Nick Bosa reacts to receiving historic contract

It took longer than many expected, but superstar pass-rusher Nick Bosa received his desired long-term contract in time to feature for the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's regular-season opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I'm very appreciative of this organization, obviously, for believing in me," Bosa said on Friday afternoon, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. Bosa also thanked ownership, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. 

"It's definitely an honor to be able to be with this organization for the majority of my career," the 25-year-old drafted second overall by the Niners in 2019 added. 

Bosa was in the final year of his rookie contract and had remained away from the club throughout the summer amid negotiations that seemed destined to run through the start of the regular season. The situation changed on Wednesday when, as individuals such as ESPN's Nick Wagoner pointed out, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history via a five-year, $170M extension that includes $122.5M guaranteed.

Bosa led the NFL for the 2022 regular season with 18.5 sacks and is a major reason outlets such as OddsChecker listed the 49ers second among the betting favorites at +400 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII as of late Friday afternoon. He mentioned how reuniting with his teammates following months of uncertainty was an "unbelievable" experience. 

"I've been waiting for that moment," Bosa continued. "That's probably one of the biggest things I was excited for, is to walk in the building and see all the guys. I know they have my back. Players have each other's back in this league because it's business at the end of the day. And it was really cool to see everybody."

Heading into Friday evening, OddsChecker had the 49ers listed as the favorites (-130, -2.5) to win in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Bosa told reporters Friday he's "up for a normal workload" at Acrisure Stadium, and that likely means bad news for Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and the rest of the Steelers offense.