San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa has agreed to a five-year, $170 million extension with $122.5 million guaranteed, likely ensuring that the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year will suit up against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The news was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal makes Bosa the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, and despite there being doubt about Bosa’s readiness for Week One, the 49ers worked to get the deal done and get him on the field for the regular-season opener. He’s a true game-wrecker on defense with 33.5 sacks over the past two seasons, including 18.5 last season, and he adds another superstar an already star-laden 49ers defense.
Along with Bosa, the Steelers have to deal with S Talanoa Hufanga, LB Fred Warner, and DL Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead. The Steelers offense is going to have its hands full, but Mike Tomlin said the team’s been preparing for Bosa to play on Sunday. Pittsburgh faced a similar situation two years ago with its star defender in T.J. Watt. Like the 49ers, the Steelers were able to get a deal done and get Watt on the field for Week 1.
Despite Bosa missing the preseason, Pittsburgh shouldn’t wonder about his readiness on Sunday.
“That’s what those guys do, they show up and they are who they are, and so we expect him to be there,” Tomlin said on Tuesday, and as Watt proved in his situation despite not doing a lot of work in the ramp up to Week One, the Steelers need to be ready for a full-throttle Bosa. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t worried about Bosa’s readiness.
“I know Nick will be in shape, I know he’ll be good,” Shanahan said during his press conference today.
While there was growing hope among Steelers fans that Bosa really would miss the game on Sunday, it always seemed somewhat likely that the 49ers would get a deal done. After Bosa missed practice today, that hope began to grow even more, but maybe that was the catalyst San Francisco needed to pony up and make Bosa the highest-paid defensive player in the league.
At an AAV of $34 million per season, Bosa edges out Aaron Donald ($31.7 million AAV) to take the crown as the highest-paid defensive player. He also got a $50 million signing bonus, per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. Bosa will now have practices over the next few days to get ready for the Steelers, and Sunday’s matchup is going to now be a lot more interesting.
