Josina Anderson, formerly of ESPN, tweeted on Thursday afternoon that San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert requested a raise earlier this offseason. Mostert’s three-year contract he received last season included hasty incentives in each year of the team’s contract. However, Anderson reported that Mostert still wants more meaningful recognition of her high output.
Over the cap currently has Mostert as the 25th highest-paid running back in the league. His maximum number will be $ 3.1 million in 2020. Mostert has no remaining guaranteed salary in the two years of his contract. After a spectacular season, I can understand why Mostert wants to be fairly compensated.
Finding out what is “fair” will be difficult. Jerick McKinnon’s compounding number is $ 2.9 million in 2020, and Tevin Coleman’s is $ 4.8 million. Add Mostert, and the 49ers are at $ 10.8 for runners, which doesn’t count Kyle Juszczyk’s $ 6.7 million maximum.
In early June, Athletic’s Matt Barrows reported that the 49ers could reach an agreement with Mostert before George Kittle, since Mostert had exceeded his contract. So Anderson’s report is not necessarily something new. Mostert won’t be an unrestricted free agent until 2022, so I’m not sure how much leverage he has here. That does not mean I am wrong. If he performs well in his job, which Raheem has, he will want to receive fair compensation.
In May, Mostert said he was increasing and adding more muscle in preparation for a bigger role. If Mostert is the leader of the Niners this season, he should have no problem with the new contract. The only question is whether you will feel that the new agreement is fair. We see all the offseason runners who are talented in the open market since the value is not there. The argument against Mostert is that historically Kyle Shanahan and his father can make any running back look good on offense. Hopefully the two sides find a middle ground and can agree on an extension.
