All summer, 49ers fans anxiously waited for any update on Nick Bosa's contract situation and hoped it would soon end.
Apparently, so did Bosa.
ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter joined "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday morning to break down the timeline and how things unfolded Wednesday.
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"Essentially, in the morning, both sides -- both sides -- thought that they were a ways away, far apart from getting a deal done," Schefter explained. "The exact language that was used to me was 'huge gaps' between the two sides. And the Niners were very concerned about the way it was going, and they really believed that Nick Bosa wasn't going to make it back in time for the game on Sunday at Pittsburgh. So Kyle Shanahan was getting ready to meet the media and they had their vice president of media relations Corry Rush in there debriefing him, saying some of the things that he should be answering about the Nick Bosa situation. 'Nothing different to tell you guys. Very sorry. Wish we had him.'
"And then literally, the news drops. It's on Twitter. Nick Bosa, new deal. Gets the deal done. And I think what happened here is ultimately, the two sides can negotiate all they want, they can feel they're far apart all they want. But I think in the end, Bosa has to say, 'I want to be there for my team. It's important for me to be there for my guys. We've taken this far enough, let's go and get this done.' And I think he gives the directive in the end, 'Hey, I'm taking this deal, it's a record deal. I'm the richest defensive player in NFL history.' "
We heard a similar narrative surrounding T.J. Watt's massive contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers two years ago. After a lengthy process, Watt overruled his agents, who believed they could negotiate more money in his deal. But Watt was fed up, walked into Steelers president Art Rooney's office and told him they had a deal.
San Francisco 49ers
While Bosa was on the opposite coast of the 49ers facility in Santa Clara and certainly wasn't kicking down any doors, he was itching to get back on the field with his teammates and prepare for Week 1.
And alas, he did. Bosa agreed to a five-year, $170 million contract extension that will make him the highest-paid 49ers player in franchise history and the highest-paid defender in league history.
In the end, fans, the 49ers and Bosa all got what they wanted.