The 49ers have received draft penalties from the NFL owing to an error with respect to the reporting of team compensation from the 2022 league year. As noted by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the team’s 2024 fourth-round pick will be moved to the back of the round; San Francisco’s own 2025 fifth-round selection has also been forfeited.
“This action resulted from a league review that found administrative payroll accounting errors at the close of the 2022 league year that resulted in a misreporting of the club’s cumulative player compensation,” a league statement reads. “The NFL determined that the club would have remained under the salary cap at all times regardless of the error and there was no intent to circumvent the cap.”
NFL teams follow a number of strict rules with respect to the salary cap under the threat of draft or financial penalties to avoid accidental or deliberate miscalculations. Clubs are required to declare a number of elements of their financial situation to the league (such as rollover cap space brought forward into the following league year and designating bonuses as likely or not likely to be earned). The 49ers have confirmed the error on their part without specifying the nature of the mistake.
“We take responsibility and accept the imposed discipline from the NFL due to a clerical payroll error,” the team said in a statement. “At no time did we mislead or otherwise deceive the League or gain a competitive advantage in connection with the payroll mistake.”
As a result of the league discipline, the 49ers will see their fourth-rounder in next month’s draft drop to the end of the order behind all compensatory picks. The selection will therefore move from No. 132 to No. 135. San Francisco benefitted more than any other team this year in terms of compensatory picks being awarded, and the team’s total for 2024 will remain the same. The 49ers already owned a different 2025 fifth-round selection, so they still have seven picks (one in each round) for next year as things stand.
More must-reads: