In the second week of June, Bechta repeated that sentiment toward Lynch, personally, while the GM was visiting San Diego. A resident of the nearby Torrey Pines met Lynch Bechta at the Brigantine, a seafood restaurant in Del Mar, with the agent who coined the GM’s name to help weigh an hour-long wait on a table. After telling Lynch that he refused to tie the deal to the tight end market’s outdated economy, Bechta reverted to the typical Niners’ contract structure that included same-year warranty triggers (with the awful date of April 1), saying, “I’m not following the team’s ability to hire players for two years.” Finally, he insists, “George will not play for everyone for $ 2.1 million in 2020.”
Lynch responded with some team-centric proclamations of his own. Then, Bechta, preparing margaritas, ready to present his opening proposal, a counter for the one Marathe had sent him on Valentine’s Day.
“I wanted you to wait,” Lynch said. “It’s not a good time. Trust me.”
Bechta quickly instructed his office, via text, not to send the proposal to Marathe. The agent assumed that Lynch’s advice stemmed from the anxiety experienced by 49ers owner Jed York and his family because they faced uncertainties such as lost income, a lower salary cap (in 2021 and beyond) and the possibility of a short or canceled season.
About a week later, the 49ers announced a contract extension through 2025 for coach Kyle Shanahan. Bechta waited a few more weeks, until July 1, before submitting his proposal – and heard crickets upon receipt.
Meanwhile, other deals were done around the league. The Chiefs signed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a record, $ 10-year, $ 503 million expansion beginning in July. A week later, Kansas City blocked defensive lineman Chris Jones with a four-year $ 85 extension, while the Cleveland Browns and defensive end Myles Garrett reached a five-year, $ 125 million deal.
Around that time, Lynch told Bechta to expect a counter-proposal soon. It arrived on July 24, with an average annual salary of $ 14 million per year, and a backloaded structure that the agent immediately rejected. The two sides then went back and forth for the next two weeks, fighting over almost every front. Kittle, who was just voted by his peers as the league’s seventh best player at any position (in the NFL Network’s annual Top 100 countdown), began to get frustrated by the process. Expressing his frustration was more difficult than usual. In a normal offseason, Kittle might have registered his displeasure over his contract situation by skipping some or all of the OTAs, or perhaps a voluntary minicamp. However, since all activities were virtual, they did not boycott a protest as effectively as they would otherwise, and Kittle chose to participate.
“[Staying away] would have been a very hard decision for him, “said Bechta.” He loves the offseason – he loves all aspects of football – and he takes his role as captain very seriously. “
Conversely, when players signed up for training camp on July 28, Kittle did not have the usual worries about placing his body on the practice field, as activities were limited to tests, meetings and walkthroughs for the first two-and-a-half. -half weeks. That made August 17, the first day the team would have allowed legitimate practices, a more realistic deadline.
When their frustrations subsided, Bechta and Kittle discussed what “nuclear options” they might consider. Skipping a walkthrough or meeting of a training camp was a possibility. With a deadline of August 6th. Also discussed as rejection – one of the devices provided by the deal struck between the league and the NFL Players Association, which allows any player concerned about the pandemic to sit out the year (without credit for on-call service) for a salary advance of $ 150,000 – was a viable scenario.
“We’ve talked about it for sure, but it was never a real option, because of the principle, the spirit of where it was there,” Bechta said. “It’s for people who are potentially in danger and protecting their family, and we did not think it was fair to use it as a tool. In the end, we decided, it is not who we are.”
There was also the possibility that Kittle could apply for a deal, something Bechta had previously indicated with Lynch, who quickly replied, “That will never happen.”
On the other hand, Lynch had diplomatically brought to Bechta that the 49ers, through the franchise tag (and his relatively low number for tight ends), could theoretically keep Kittle from at least three seasons of free agency if a deal was not reached. – the final year of his rookie deal (2020), followed by consecutive years on the tag.
By late July, the tension had reached a breaking point. After the team announced that Lynch had signed a contract extension that bound him to the 49ers through the 2024 season, Bechta – in a very contentious period – sent a congratulatory text that the GM considered a straightforward one.
In response, Bechta suggested a “time-out” of several days so that all parties, including Kittle, could settle. Kittle’s father, Bruce, an experienced labor lawyer and former Oklahoma assistant coach, flew to the Bay Area to serve as a calming force for his son.
