The San Francisco 49ers appeared to gain the upper hand in the 2024 NFL Draft when the league announced they received five compensatory picks. The league took one future draft pick away and moved another back for April after a league review of the team’s payroll finances.
The San Francisco 49ers will move back in the 2024 NFL Draft
Per Tom Pelissero with the NFL Network, the 49ers will forfeit their fifth-round pick for the 2025 NFL Draft and move four spots back in the fourth round to the No. 135 pick. The 49ers had to concede their draft positions because of a payroll accounting error. Regardless of the error, the 49ers stayed within cap compliance:
“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.”
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…— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 18, 2024
The 49ers release a statement
Per Ari Meirov, the 49ers released a statement on the league’s punishment for what the team is calling a “clerical” error:
“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.”
#49ers statement: “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.” https://t.co/QaCVgTILBj
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 18, 2024
A costly mistake for the 2025 NFL Draft
That’s a hefty punishment from the league for a clerical error. The mistake by the front office accounting team will cost the 49ers a player for the 2025 team. The 49ers typically try to use up all the cap space they can for a season and rely on adding extra draft picks to field a competitive roster.
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