The San Francisco 49ers have come up short in the NFL playoffs continuously in the last decade. From coming up short in the Super Bowl in 2013 or once again in 2024. From these shortcomings, they always seem to build back better with a lot of help from the NFL Draft. Unfortunately for them, it will be harder for them to keep up the trend in the 2024 draft because of the substantial draft position lost.
San Francisco 49ers Have Pick Taken For Accounting Errors
The San Francisco 49ers have been very successful in the late rounds of the NFL Draft. They have turned late-round picks into quality talent time and time again which continues to take them deep in the playoffs. For the next two years, those late-round picks will be a little weaker.
The #49ers will forfeit their original fifth-round selection in the 2025 Draft and will have their 2024 fourth-round selection (#131) move to the end of the fourth round, behind the compensatory picks (#135).
This action resulted from a league review that found administrative payroll accounting errors at the close of the 2022 league year that resulted in a misreporting of the club’s cumulative player compensation. The NFL determined that the club would have remained under the salary cap at all times regardless of the error and there was no intent to circumvent the cap.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 18, 2024
The San Francisco 49ers owned up to the mistake and claimed it was not done with intent.
“We take responsibility and accept the imposed discipline from the NFL due to a clerical payroll error. At no time did we mislead or otherwise deceive the League or gain a competitive advantage in connection with the payroll mistake.”
History Of San Francisco 49ers 5th Round Draft Picks
The San Francisco 49ers are certainly disgruntled to hear that their 2025 5th-round pick has been revoked, as they have made a living in the fourth and fifth rounds for some time now. In the Kyle Shannahan era, the 49ers have drafted two all-pros in the fifth round as well as multiple other starters.
In 2017 they grabbed all-pro tight end George Kittle in the fifth round, now Jets cornerback DJ Reed in 2018, key starter Dre Greenlaw in 2019, right tackle Colton McKivitz in 2020, starters Deommodore Lenoir and All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufunga in 2021. Year in and year out the San Francisco 49ers have produced talent out of the fifth round, now that will be much more difficult to do in 2025.
The 49ers will live with a pick being moved back four spots, but come next year that fifth-round pick will certainly be missed.
Fans React
Given the San Francisco 49ers’ ability to create and maintain dominant teams, fans had plenty to say about this crackdown by the league.
From memes about their cap space.
The niners creating cap space out of thin air pic.twitter.com/XhQNzU6bon
— CANT GUARD ANA 🏈 (@FootballGirlAna) March 18, 2024
To jokes about their playoff success.
They also forfeit their fake win against the packers who would’ve beaten the chiefs therefore packers are Super Bowl champs thanks Tom
— CheeseheadTV 🧀 (@cheeseheadtv) March 18, 2024
And of course claims of cheating.
Cheating worse than any NFL team ever has and they still face-planted in the Super Bowl. Embarrassing….
— Bint e Hawa (@binte_hawa125) March 18, 2024
The San Francisco 49ers seemed to have hired a bad accountant, and now they have to pay for it and NFL watchers get to have their fun too.
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