Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Only $1 million separated the 49ers and their franchise tagged player, Dashon Goldson, in trying to sign him to a long-term contract.  With the 1:00 p.m. deadline passing on Monday, July, 16, Goldson will now play the 2012 season under a one-year, $6.2 million deal.  That is, if he decides to sign his franchise tender and play for the 49ers in 2012.  You would expect Goldson to do so because his only other option is to sit out the season in protest, which would hurt his chances of receiving the long-term contract he has been seeking with the 49ers the past two offseason’s.  However, this question still remains unanswered:  Why didn’t Goldson sign a long-term contract with the 49ers?

The 49ers front office, led by GM Trent Baalke, has remained steadfast in negotiations with players.  They offer only deals they believe the player is worth, while not going over that amount to sign the player.  For an example, see the last two franchise tag holdouts the 49ers experienced with Julian Peterson and Aubrayo Franklin.  Both cases did not end with the front office caving by offering a deal with the money the players were seeking in a long-term contract.  Both players ended up signing their franchise tender late in training camp.  Neither player was tagged again nor re-signed to a long-term contract the following offseason.

This seems to be the case with Goldson not signing a long-term contract.  It has been widely reported the 49ers offered $7 million a year with $14 million guaranteed and Goldson wanted $8 million a year.  Baalke set the market value for Goldson at $7 million and he refused to go any higher.  This is not the first time Goldson has experienced this as he turned down a five-year, $25 million deal last offseason from the 49ers.  The safety thought he was worth more money while the 49ers did not, and they let him seek out a better deal with another team.  Without receiving any better offers from other teams, he rejoined the 49ers for 2011, signing a one-year deal paying him $2 million.

Even though it would be career suicide, there is no guarantee Goldson will sign his franchise tender and play for the 49ers this season.  He did recently say he would play under a franchise tag this season, however, in response to a question from CSNBayArea.com reporter Mindi Bach about when Goldson will sign his franchise tender, he said, “No comment.”  The upcoming season has now become a make or break year for Goldson.  He will need to duplicate, and build upon, his play from last season to show the 49ers and other teams he is worth the money he was seeking from San Francisco, in order for him to receive a contract he believes he is worth.

The 49ers could franchise tag Goldson again next offseason which would pay him around $7.45 million. That is not out of the question, however, a lot will depend on not only how Goldson plays, but how backup safeties C.J. Spillman and rookie Trenton Robinson perform this season.  Should Spillman and/or Robinson show they are capable of starting and replacing Goldson at safety, the 49ers will let him walk in the offseason to sign with another team as an unrestricted free agent.

For now, the best and really only option for Goldson is to sign his franchise tender before July 26, when veterans report to training camp.  If he delays signing his franchise tender and decides to do so late in the preseason, Niner fans can expect Jim Harbaugh to start the players at safety who have been at training camp full-time and shown they are ready to start, which will either be Spillman or Robinson.

Your move Goldson.

Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

The San Francisco 49ers and Dashon Goldson could not get a deal done by the deadline on Monday for a long-term contract.  Goldson will now play under a one year contract for the second year in a row.  Goldson still has not signed his franchise tender which will pay him around $6.2 million for the 2012 season.  The 49ers and Goldson cannot start negotiating again for long-term contract until after the regular season.  The 49ers could technically franchise tag him again for the 2013 season if the two sides cannot come to an agreement.

The safety has not sign his franchise tender, however, he recently said he would play for the 49ers this season even if that meant under another one year contract.  He is supposed to report to training camp on July 26, so let’s hope he signs franchise tender before then so he does not miss any practice time.  He could chose to sit out the season to protest not receiving a long-term deal, but I doubt he will risk not playing a whole season in the NFL.

Goldson deserves a long-term contract from the 49ers and it has been reported both sides were only about $1 million apart in negotiations.  With the gap between them so small, it is surprising a deal was not reached.  Goldson would have received a significant pay raise whether or not he signed a long-term deal after making $2 million last season playing for the 49ers.  I expected Goldson to have a great season in 2012.  With the deadline passed, Goldson will probably have a chip on his shoulder now that he will play for the second straight season under a one year deal.  Defenses should watch for Goldson this season as he will be playing for the elusive long-term contract he has not received in his five years in the NFL.  That is if he decides to sign his franchise tender and play for the 49ers this season.  Stay tuned.

Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

The San Francisco 49ers lone contract dispute this offseason is starting to come to end with franchise tagged safety Dashon Goldson having until Monday to sign a contract.  Should Goldson not sign a long-term contract with the 49ers, his franchise tender will kick in which would pay him $6.2 million for one-year and he would not be able to negotiate another deal until after the regular season.

On Tuesday night, Goldson sat down with Alex Marvez and Randy Cross on SiriusXM NFL Radio and said he would be okay playing with the franchise tag for the upcoming season.  Goldson said,

I’m hoping something long term will happen.  I’m not taking anything personally. I look at it as a business move on (San Francisco’s) part. That’s just the business.  If I have to play for the tag, I’ll play for the tag. But any guy would love long-term security.

All these one-year (contracts) is not what any player would want. We know what we put our bodies through and what we do for our teams. But it’s all good. There’s no love lost or anything like that. I just hope something will get done. If not, I’ll still be a 49er.

Goldson certainly deserves a long-term contract from the 49ers and both sides are only about $1 million apart in negotiations.  The safety was a huge part of the 49ers dominate defense last season making his first Pro Bowl and having career highs in interceptions (six) and passes defensed (nine).  He did all of this playing with a one-year contract earning him $1.2 million.

Whether Goldson signs the franchise tender or a long-term contract, he will get a significant pay raise.  The safety’s comments did not come as a big surprise because he has not threaten publicly to sit out the season or complained about not receiving a better long-term offer from the 49ers during the negotiations.  This shows Goldson is not just concerned about getting paid but he wants to return to the 49ers, whether with a one-year or a long-term deal, and help them defend the NFC West title and return to the playoffs.

Recently Titans safety Michael Griffin, who was franchise tagged, received a five-year, $36 million extension with $15 million of the money guaranteed.  So Niner fans can expect something similar to that contract to be offered to Goldson.  If Goldson is really concerned about receiving long-term stability, he has an offer waiting on the table for him to sign which is not far off from the money he expects to receive.