PALM BEACH, Fla. — While attending the NFL Annual Meeting, 49ers owner and CEO Jed York was asked about being tapped with the label of being cheap after a purge of the team's roster during free agency.
“I’ve been called worse,” York said Tuesday with a laugh to local Bay Area media. “I think you guys have called me worse, at least a couple of you. Look, I get it. Fans care. You want to win and when you’re in a world where everybody is watching the NFL the first week of free agency, at least the first three days of free agency, it’s a frenzy.
“You see a huge spike in social following and things like that because it’s something to get engaged in and when you’re not overly active in that space, it’s easy to say, ‘Ah, you don’t want to win.’ "
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Just as general manager John Lynch expressed one day prior, York emphasized a necessary salary retooling to have the ability to afford an expensive multi-year extension for Brock Purdy.
Along with the quarterback, San Francisco still boasts All-Pro players in Trent Williams, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Kyle Juszczyk, who all garner hefty salaries.
“I think we have a handful of Pro Bowlers and potentially even better players on out roster still,” York said. “We still have a pretty good roster. And you don’t just have to do things the first three days in free agency.
“You look at the Philadelphia Eagles last year. You go out and get a guy like Saquon Barkley who is a future Hall of Famer, great player. That’s somebody who made a huge impact. I don’t know that as we looked at the board, that there was somebody that we felt would make an impact more so than making the decision to go pay Brock.”
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The 49ers have been anything but cheap since Kyle Shanahan and Lynch's arrival to the Bay Area. The team spent $332 million in cash during the 2024 season, which is $77 million over the cap.
While the team currently is approximately $40 million under the 2025 cap of $279.2 million, York offered the reminder that once Purdy’s contract extension is finalized, that number drastically will change.
“You can’t pay somebody quarterback money and have all of the other talent around that we have,” York said. “Now you have to start fulfilling that, filling that piece with the draft. And that’s the nice thing about having a lot of draft picks, and having higher draft picks.”
Pressure is now on the front office and coaching staff, that work in unison, in their draft evaluations. In order to bounce back from a disappointing 6-11 season, the group will need to assemble a rookie class that will be able to immediately contribute on the field.