Kawakami: Nick Bosa’s New $170 Million Deal and Moment of Truth for the 49ers

Santa Clara, Calif. – Was this Kyle Shanahan’s happiest podium appearance on Wednesday? Followed immediately by the funniest midweek locker room mood of the 49ers in recent history?

I think so. I think those 90 minutes may be unrivaled in terms of levels of all-encompassing joy, from the moment Shanahan stepped into the press conference room just minutes after learning Nick Bosa had signed a new $170 million contract extension and would almost certainly be available to play. In the regular season opener on Sunday in Pittsburgh, to all the players who greeted the media when the locker room opened shortly afterward.

“I can’t wait to welcome him with open arms,” ​​Trent Williams said of Bossa. “Maybe my arms should be a little wider because he has bigger pockets now.”

There was joy. There was pure satisfaction, too. It came as it did, just before the media arrived with all the reporters gathered to question everyone in Room 49 about Bossa’s absence, and it all provided a very open look at a high profile team reacting to the very positive news in almost real time.

“I was actually getting ready to talk to you guys about I have nothing to tell you guys (about a bossa), and I’m three minutes late because I just found out about the news,” Shanahan said with a big smile.

Shanahan and the players were probably equally elated last October when the 49ers pulled out of a Christian McCaffrey deal. But that deal took place on Thursday night. The coach and players didn’t talk about it to the media until the next day, when they were still happy but the adrenaline turned into a practical issue of getting McCaffrey ready to play a few days later.

Deals for Debo Samuel, Fred Warner, George Keitel, Eric Armistead, and Williams (and various Jimmy Garoppolo deals) over the past few years have also been significant moments, but none have had this kind of drama and public crescendo.

Bossa’s position was, is and always will be unique because even in a locker room full of stars, Bossa stands out. Even on a list that is not lacking in high salaries, Bosa’s deal broke all precedents. Even in a team that isn’t short of influential people, no one has the kind of influence that Bossa has had this summer. Right about that. Because he’s a bossa. And everyone on the team knew the 49ers had to break all precedents for him. It took longer than anyone expected, and almost as long to get Bossa into the uniform for the first week.

This led to tension. This led to Shanahan starting this week plotting as if Bossa would miss the Steelers game. This led to concerns about how long this might continue. It just throws a lot of things out of its scope. This, of course, is not the way any team, especially the 49ers, wants to go into the season.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t (a locker room concern),” Williams said. “Because he’s such a big contributor to what we do as a defense and how we play. He’s not like everyone else goes down. Defensive Player of the Year. You miss people like that. I know it’s a league with new players, but a lot of that goes awry when you talk about player like this.

Until this news broke on Wednesday afternoon, a losing QB2 contest by Trey Lance was dominating the 49ers’ training camp conversation, Lance’s much-discussed Cowboys trade, and rookie kicker Jake Moody’s then rookie jumble. Minor injury, of course, build a bossa concerns. There was concern throughout the 49ers’ headquarters, I can tell you. There was definitely a lot of concern about Bossa’s vacuum.

“Yeah, I think everyone is,” said Eric Armistead.

But the 49ers got it done. That’s all that matters once you’re done. There was certainly some miscalculation on the part of Team 49 about Bossa’s resolve. They have pressed it to the time limit. They definitely paid more than they wanted or planned. But they got it done.

“We all knew Nick was going to get a bonus just like he did,” Shanahan said. “I don’t know the exact details of it, but I knew it would be like this in the end. Our organization did it, and I think Nick did, and I’m glad we worked it out on everyone’s part because we love Nick. I think he loves being here and he definitely deserved it.” And he will also earn it in the future.

Thanks to this deal as well as all of the other big deals, there will certainly be some necessary adjustments – and some big contracts likely to be discarded or reduced – in the next few years when all of the 49ers’ big deals start to blow over the cap and when Brock Purdy is out. Likely due to a large extension.

But that’s later. If you’re going to keep a Super Bowl-level roster for several years, you’re going to experience that kind of pressure. You will have to pay these kinds of prices; For a star like Bosa, you’ll have to shell out $34 million a year with a $122.5 million guarantee. You can’t avoid it. If you don’t want to do that, say goodbye to chasing Super Bowls.

And I imagine Jed Yorke and his family, with some prodding from Shanahan, Lynch and others, decided to keep chasing Super Bowls.

“We all knew the Yorks were always the ownership group that would put their checkbook in place,” said Williams. “They’re not afraid to stand on one side and make the highest-paid guy in history. They do that, especially for players who deserve it. And Nick obviously deserves it. Anyone in the NFL would have paid him anything they wanted.”

Anyone would have done it, but the 49ers had to. Nor was it a guarantee that they would. The celebration at the 49ers’ headquarters on Wednesday was a sign of both — that 49ers management did what it had to do and that the players and staff waited a long time, a lot more time and anguish than they expected, for all of this to happen.

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(Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)