Deommodore Lenoir had the chance to cash in on the open market next offseason and likely make more than the $92 million contract extension he agreed with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday.

Why then, did the ascending young cornerback decide to pass on 2025 free agency and instead sign on for a further five years with San Francisco?

Much of it was location for Lenoir, who was born in Los Angeles, played his college football at Oregon and, after his rookie year with the Niners, moved to Arizona.

But his other reasons reflect very well on the 49ers and the culture Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have built since taking over as head coach and general manager in 2017.

"I've been a west coast guy my whole life," Lenoir said in a press conference on Wednesday. "The camaraderie within the team, all the players, my brothers, my family, my family is from this side. So I knew it was a place that I could see myself long term."

Because of his ties to the west coast and his affection for his teammates in the locker room, there was clearly a lot of motivation on both sides to get a deal done, with Shanahan labeling Lenoir as "exactly what we want as a Niner".

For Lenoir, the journey to this point has been filled with ups and downs. 

The 2021 fifth-round pick said he had "given up" on being drafted until he finally got the call from the Niners.

He started in Week 2 as a rookie, excelling in a win over the Philadelphia Eagles, before being benched after some key errors in a primetime defeat to the Green Bay Packers the following week.

"That first year he got thrown in early and had a tough mistake on one of the last plays of the game versus Green Bay, giving up a big last play that they could kick a field goal," Shanahan said when asked about Lenoir's rookie year.

"I remember after that, I was talking to him about it this morning, he lost his confidence a little bit after that. Just was down making a big mistake and really never got it back that year. But it was that OTAs [the next year], he was a different guy right away. And ever since that rookie year he has been a stud for us every year."

Indeed, Lenoir could not be more different from the rookie for whom the primetime lights shined a little too bright early on. He is one of the most important members of the 49er defense, playing both outside corner and in the slot and excelling at both positions with savvy pass defense along with tremendous physicality against the run.

His integral role and the financial rewards Lenoir is now reaping are a testament to the perseverance of a player who also had to wait, albeit briefly, for his chance in his second year in 2022, when he initially missed out on a starting role only to the move into the top three at corner when Samuel Womack III was benched after one game.

And when news came down of an agreement, it proved to be overwhelming for Lenoir.

"I was happy, when I heard my agent tell me the deal was finally done I burst out into tears that I was finally able to change my family’s life for generations," Lenoir added. "So it’s just a blessing."

Kyle Shanahan reveals concern level over George Kittle and Nick Bosa as both appear on 49ers’ injury report

Both appear likely to play.