Deebo Samuel isn’t happy with the 49ers.
Or at best, he’s fine if everyone thinks he’s not happy with the 49ers.
This is the new age of relationships where a player could express their dissatisfaction with their employer through actions on social media. This generally includes unfollowing the team’s official accounts and removing any content in which he appears in his team’s uniform.
Such was the case recently for Samuel, who emerged as one of the NFL’s breakout stars in the 2021 season en route to selection as a first-team All-Pro wide receiver.
Recovering from an unproductive, injury-plagued 2020 season, Samuel caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season. After injuries caused a problem in the 49ers’ backfield, Samuel stepped in, rushing for 365 yards and eight touchdowns.
In three postseason games, Samuel had rushed for 154 yards and a touchdown, along with 137 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Teams may not touch a drafted player’s contract until after their third season. This is the first time the 49ers have been able to begin talks over a multi-year deal.
Things seem to be going well for Samuel. And both sides thought of negotiating a contract putting some clear marks on the bottom and top ends.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have renewed receiver Chris Godwin for three years and $60 million. Godwin is a five-year veteran who has rushed for 3,276 yards and 21 touchdowns in 40 games over the past three seasons. He continues to rehabilitate from a cruciate ligament tear he sustained at week 15.
So a deal that averages $20 million per season seems like the low reach of Samuel’s next contract.
Tyreek Hill, who was acquired by the Miami Dolphins in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, signed a four-year, $95.435 million ($23.85 million per season) contract. Davante Adams went from Green Bay to Las Vegas in a trade. The Raiders have inked a three-year, $67.5 million ($22.5 million per season) contract.
The Buffalo Bills signed Stefon Diggs last week to an extension that could be worth three years and $96 million ($22.67 million a year).
It’s hard to justify Samuel’s next deal reaching the reach of Adams, Hill and Diggs. After all, these players have been some of the league’s most explosive and consistent receivers over the past half-dozen seasons.
Logically, Samuel’s next contract should be between $20 and $22 million annually. There. That’s the easy part.
But every organization has its own philosophy of how to allocate money to specific positions.
Kansas City and Green Bay, teams whose championship windows remain open, made decisions not to pay their top receivers this offseason. Both teams posted significant draft hauls in trades and decided to reallocate the money saved to other areas of the roster.
With high-quality receivers entering the NFL every year — and this draft seems no different — the Chiefs and Packers decided it made sense for them to sift through the draft for younger, less expensive substitutes.
The 49ers roster already includes the highest-paid offensive lineman (Trent Williams), tight end (George Kittle), and fullback (Kyle Juszczyk), as well as the second highest-paid linebacker in the NFL (Fred Warner).
Samuel’s next contract could put him in the top five highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. And the club must consider bringing defensive end Nick Bosa on in a deal that could make him the highest-paid player on the team.
49ers decision makers have stated their intention to keep Samuel and Bosa on the team for the foreseeable future. Just two weeks ago at the NFL Annual Meeting, General Manager John Lynch promised that Samuel and Bosa weren’t going anywhere.
“We have a plan for each of these guys,” Lynch said. “We’re going to keep these discussions private, but like I’ve said for a long time, these guys will be a part of us for a long, long time. They are fantastic players. They are the core of who we are and they are fabulous players, fabulous people and a huge part of who we are.”
There was no indication that the 49ers were openly buying Samuel in a trade. But coach Kyle Shanahan said it himself a year ago: No one on the team is off-limits to trade talks. He and Lynch would consider any legitimate offer.
This topic came up as the 49ers rose to 3rd overall and announced their intention that they would keep quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for at least one more season unless another team called with an offer that was too good to forgo it.
“Yeah, that’s true of every player on our team, I mean probably myself, too,” Shanahan said. “If someone blows us away with a trade for me, I bet you John would trade me.”
The 49ers proved two years ago that they are willing to trade the team’s best player for the right price. Defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, who had come off a season in which he won the Bill Walsh Award for team MVP, was shockingly dealt to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round draft pick in March 2020.
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Agent Tory Dandy, who is representing Samuel, did not immediately respond Monday morning to NBC Sports Bay Area’s request for clarification on his client’s apparent dissatisfaction.
Samuel speaks loudly on social media.
But at this point what he says is completely open to interpretation.
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