NFL
49ers Making A Push To End Trent Williams Contract Dispute Before Draft
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San Francisco 49ers v Jacksonville Jaguars by Megan Briggs | Getty Images
The 49ers spoke glowingly about the prospects of retaining future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams at the recently-completed NFL meetings, but there is no guarantee he will be back with the team. And guarantees are at the heart of the problem.
While the 49ers are couching this situation as one with an inevitable return for the stalwart, rival executives remain very interested to see how this plays out over the comings weeks as interest in Williams is legitimate.
San Franisco might be banking on it waning after the draft as teams address that need with high draft picks, but injuries in the offseason are inevitable and we get the sense from multiple league sources that Williams is no closer to agreeing to a reworked deal with he team and in no hurry to make a decision in that regard.
The 49ers have made it clear they do not want to pay him the roughly $33M he is owed for the 2026 season given his age and injury history.
But the 37-year old has been far more durable for them than he was during his career in Washington, and it stands to reason another contending team might be willing to pay him more over the next two years than the 49ers.
What’s The Hold Up?
As we hear it, the 49ers made another push to try to get closure in this situation and sent over a revised contract to Williams within the last few days.
League sources indicated there is a chance this gets resolved early this week, depending on how comfortable the player is with the latest proposal. And, should the sides not make headway over the coming days, there is potential for this to get sideways.
The 49ers are willing to pay Williams basically $36M guaranteed over the next two years, with about $24M to be paid to him in 2026.
That $24M salary for next season would still put him in the top 10 among offensive linemen, though one could certainly argue that Williams is still a top three tackle in the league. The closer we get to the start of the regular season, the more the 49ers could reasonably conclude that opposing teams will have less appetite to take on a massive salary and thus perhaps the threat of cutting him could result in Williams opting to take what’s on the table.
Then again, it only takes one team to be willing to pay a little bit more, for Williams to make out. The 49ers would also make the case that, at this stage of his career, they offer as good a chance as any team to win a title.
Other teams could argue they are only the third-best team in their own division, their roster has been in decline and their drafts have not reaped sufficient immediate rewards and their Lombardi Trophy window is closing.
Regardless, Williams has plenty to consider.
La Canfora has covered over 20 Super Bowls and League Meetings and NFL drafts, building a wide network of sources throughout all aspects of the game. He was an award winning print journalist as well, working at The Detroit Free Press and The Baltimore Sun prior to his first stint at The Washington Post. He has covered sporting events around the world, including two Winter Olympics and all of the 2006 World Cup. He attended his first NFL game in 1978, and would soon kindle what has become a lifelong love and appreciation of the sport. La Canfora is also a professional handicapper, specializing in the NFL, creating a daily sports wagering game show - "Wanna Bet?" He also hosts nationally broadcast NFL radio shows in the US, as well as a daily sports radio show in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.