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The Most Overpaid Player on the San Francisco 49ers

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated Mar 28, 2026 3:00 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers are a top-heavy roster with some top-heavy contracts. So, it is fair to wonder which of their current players is the most overpaid on the roster.

Is Nick Bosa the most overpaid player on the San Francisco 49ers

Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report went through the most overpaid player on the roster for every team in the NFL. For the 49ers, he chose Nick Bosa.

Bosa is awesome, but his production fell off markedly in back-to-back seasons before he missed all but three games in 2025. It's fair to wonder if he peaked as Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. If so, that five-year, $170 million contract will become problematic. He is the seventh-highest-paid defensive player in football. Brad Gagnon

This is probably correct. Bosa had 18.5 sacks in 2022, and when he hit that peak, nobody was even concerned about what his contract would look like down the line. In 2023, he posted 10 sacks, and with 9.5 sacks in 2024, he was firmly good, but not quite living up to the contract. Of course, 2025 was his worst year yet and ended with an ACL injury.

Nobody wants to blame a player for getting injured, but when you are getting that much money and have about the same number of sacks in three seasons as you did in the one season prior, you are going to get called overpaid.

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There are really only two other options, and one of them is technicality. Brandon Aiyuk is obviously the most overpaid 49ers player right now, much more than Bosa. At least Bosa is trying to get back and did play last year. Aiyuk brought nothing and will bring nothing. He will be a dead cap hit, but he will not be on the 49ers for much longer, so it makes sense that he was not used.

Without it being Aiyuk, the next option is Trent Williams. The difference is that Williams has been closer to the elite more recently than Bosa, and he has been healthier in recent seasons. However, his play is not quite at its best in the NFL; he has missed some time, and his cap hit is enormous.

Some of that is the 49ers doing, and the team may work out an extension with Williams that lowers his cap hit as soon as this month. However, until they do that, it is hard to justify any team excelling while giving that cap hit to one player, so the 49ers are overpaying him on the cap right now, even if he is the best tackle in the NFL.

Brock Pudy is about to see his extension kick in, but he proved himself to most fans last season. It is hard to see anyone but Williams or Bosa being the most overpaid player currently.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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