The 49ers know they need to sign Nick Bosa to an extension. The 49ers will sign Nick Bosa to an extension.

That the Niners are going to find a way to keep the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who is entering the last year of his contract, in the building long term is not in question.

However, that does not mean it is not a difficult deal for them to do.

After a 18.5 sack season that saw him rightly receive the award for the best defensive player in football, Bosa and his camp have a lot of leverage in negotiations. He will command a contract that will make him the highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. That honor currently belongs to T.J. Watt, who has an average annual salary of just over $28 million.

Bosa is unlikely to become the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, a title held by Rams star Aaron Donald, who earns $31 million a year.

But agents will use everything from stats and advanced metrics to external praise from commentators and rival coaches to try push their client's price up.

As such, it would be no surprise if Bosa's representatives bring up Jeremy Fowler's ranking of the top edge rushers in the NFL whenever they next talk with the 49ers.

Fowler and ESPN polled league executives, coaches, scouts and players to help them rank the top 10 players at what is undoubtedly a premium position in the modern NFL.

And it was Bosa who was at the top of the pile. Nobody polled by ESPN ranked Bosa lower than fifth, with evaluators praising his get-off as a standout trait that helps set him apart from the rest.

Fowler's blurb for Bosa read in part:

"Size, strength, power, speed, quickness, solid length, repertoire of moves and high motor," a high-ranking NFL official said. "He's got it all." He was the league's sack king last season with 18.5. He produced a 15.3% pressure rate on his pass rushes in 2022, per Next Gen Stats, and his 48 quarterback hits led the field by 12.

That level of effusive praise from an NFL official, combined with Bosa's stellar performance in metrics that measure a pass rusher's impact beyond pure sack production, is something agents will look to use to get a player more money.

There is no question Bosa deserves a lucrative payday. 

He is still only 25, meaning he has yet to reach what would be considered his prime, and has recovered spectacularly from the torn ACL that ended his 2020 season. In the two seasons since, Bosa has compiled 34 sacks, allaying any fears about nagging injury problems derailing his career.

By extending Bosa, the 49ers will get the prime years of a pass rusher who the NFL believes, according to Fowler, is better than all the rest. It is a negotiation that will be tricky and will likely, given the Niners' history with such discussions, drag on towards training camp. 

Still, the 49ers know they must pay a pretty penny for a player on a Hall of Fame trajectory. It is just a question of how long it takes and what kind of contract structure a franchise known for creative backloaded deals puts together to absorb what will be a historic contract.

Nick Bosa isn’t worried about when the 49ers plan on paying him

He shouldn’t be, either.

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