The 49ers’ spending spree continues, Fred Warner agrees to new 3-year deal

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The 49ers’ offseason heater continues.

Hot on the heels of his teammates George Kittle and Brock Purdy, superstar linebacker Fred Warner has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $63 million contract extension with the 49ers. The deal, worth $21 million annually, once again makes Warner — the NFL’s best linebacker — the highest-paid player at his position. It features $56.7 million in total guaranteed money.

The new contract, unusual in that it’s been finalized two full seasons before Warner’s existing contract had been set to expire, also benefits the 49ers. Warner’s cap hit for the 2025 season had been over $29 million; this new deal will lower that significantly and allow the 49ers to carry over more unused cap space into future seasons.

That’s the spending strategy for Warner, Purdy, Kittle, and all the other superstars — Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, and Brandon Aiyuk — that the 49ers have signed in recent seasons.

The 49ers have spent much of the offseason focusing on rebuilding a defense that will have no shortage of young players for Warner to help mentor.

The first move the team made after finishing 6-11 was bringing former Jets head coach Robert Saleh back to the organization for a second stint as the defensive coordinator. Saleh coached Warner when the 49ers made a Super Bowl appearance in the 2019 season, but he and Bosa are the only holdovers left from that unit entering 2025.

The 49ers used their first-round draft choice on Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams and then preceded to pick a defensive player with each of their next four selections. One of those players, third-round draftee Nick Martin, should have an opportunity to start alongside Warner at the linebacker level after the team lost veteran Dre Greenlaw to the Denver Broncos in free agency.

Warner, a third-round draft pick of the 49ers in 2018, has been a mainstay on the defense since his rookie season and has provided the franchise incredible stability and durability. The four-time first-team All-Pro linebacker has started every game since the beginning of the 2018 season and played through a broken bone in his ankle last year even after the 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention.

Warner is the best coverage linebacker in football — he’s successfully blanketed the likes of Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb at times — and the central communicator of the 49ers defense. He was an obvious candidate, if there is a such thing, for an extension a full two seasons before his existing deal expired.

Now, that business is done. Between this contract for Warner and the new deals for Kittle and Purdy this month, the 49ers will vault back near the top of the NFL’s list for salary cash spent. They ranked No. 2 in 2024 and might even finish No. 1 in 2025 depending on how much money is distributed to Warner during this calendar year.