Two weeks ago, Raheem Mostert and his agent asked the 49ers for an exchange, citing “unproductive conversations” regarding a new contract.
Mostert has no influence on the matter and the 49ers are unlikely to change him. The broker reportedly spoke to a top member of the organization to “clean the air” over the weekend, and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport believes things between the two sides are improving.
“It appears they are in a much better place now than they were every time the original message delivered by their agent, Brett Tessler, what was it? About two weeks ago, whenever,” Rapoport said on KNBR. “For one thing, for Mostert, I get it. He clearly switched roles, clearly exceeded his contract. So, in his opinion, he is a productive and productive player in the team’s biggest games. He deserves to be paid.”
“I also get it from the team point of view. They literally just made a deal for him. It’s hard enough for someone to get paid two years. Maybe as a quarterback, you get it. As a running back, it’s hard even get paid once, let alone after an extension when you have two years left. “
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Mostert, who started last season on the depth chart, finished the year as the 49ers’ best running back in the Super Bowl. Mostert wants to be paid, and rightly so. He and his agent only ask that his pay be “in line” with that of his teammate Tevin Coleman.
Coleman’s $ 4.55 million base salary is nearly $ 2 million more than Mostert’s $ 2.575 million, according to OverTheCap. However, Mostert’s salary is not guaranteed, since Coleman had $ 2 million guaranteed in April.
While Mostert and Coleman ran 137 times in the regular season, Mostert led the team in yards (772) and touchdowns (eight). He also had twice as many carries and touches as Coleman from week 13 onward. In the NFC Championship Game, Mostert ran for a record 220 yards and four touchdowns in the Green Bay Packers’ stomp by the 49ers.
Rapoport believes that Mostert’s conversation with the team paid dividends, and that the team would like to take care of him.
“I know that [Mostert] is someone they want to care for and are willing to care for in some way or fashion, “said Rapoport.” I don’t know if they are going to be able to do some kind of additional compensation, maybe they are incentives, something to better explain the type of production they think it will have.
“But this is a really smart organization. They usually do the right thing. I imagine they are going to be able to solve something, and this type of business request will, at some point, be something in the past.”
[[[[RELATED: Mostert’s Commercial Lawsuit Shows Expensive Price of Success]While the 49ers want to take care of Mostert, that could be more difficult than most people think.
The 49ers currently have the eighth highest salary cap number for running backs, and are trying to find a lucrative extension for tight end George Kittle. The 49ers should also take into account future planned extensions for Nick Bosa and Trent Williams when making any contractual decisions that may have future ramifications.
Mostert and the 49ers will continue to work through their differences, but at least things seem to be heading in the right direction as training camp approaches.
