Three years ago, the San Francisco 49ers arguably had the biggest bargain on the league's market, quarterback Brock Purdy, whose contract as the final player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft the previous year ultimately meant he was the cheapest player on a controlled deal out of anyone from that particular draft class.
And he helped take the Niners to a Super Bowl. What a bargain, right?
Now, though, Purdy is getting paid handsomely, and San Francisco's biggest stars are either at the very top, or at the very least, close to it with total contract values.
So, it shouldn't be a surprise none of the 49ers' current players showed up on Bleacher Report's recent list of best bargain players entering 2026.
Names like New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Byron Young grace the list; young players still on rookie deals who haven't cashed in on lucrative extensions or second contracts.
Those two names (and the others on B/R's list) ultimately will at some point, of course. But for now, they're cheap.
Unfortunately, the Niners have zero players on said list, which is a good indication they haven't landed much star power via the cost-controlled NFL Draft and subsequent contracts in recent years. That's not exactly a good thing.
Oddly enough, though, it doesn't quite reveal the full story.
49ers' absence from B/R's bargain-player list reveals an oddity that's hard to understand
San Francisco has made up for its numerous draft misses over the years with key free-agent grabs and trades, the most recent arguably being the March 2026 trade for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.
Considering the 49ers boast so many highly paid superstars, one would figure they'd be in perennial salary cap hell, right?
Except they aren't.
According to Over the Cap, the Niners have a league-most $69.82 million in cap space. You read that correctly: "a league most."
Granted, a big part of this is due to San Francisco frequently using void years to spread out cap hits beyond a player's contractual obligation to the 49ers, and it's mostly worked out well for the franchise. And it's allowed the Niners to fit their big-ticket contracts within their budget without substantial cap challenges and/or waves of cap casualties every year.
That said, one can't help but think San Francisco would like to hit on some superstar-type talents via the draft and keep said players on those cost-effective rookie contracts every now and then.
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