The 49ers will have to forfeit a fifth-round draft pick in 2025 as punishment for administrative payroll accounting errors that occurred at the end of the 2022 season, the NFL announced on Monday.
San Francisco will also have its pick in the fourth round this year move from 131st overall to 135th as part of the disciplinary action by the league.
The NFL began a review after it had noticed the errors that led to “a misreporting of the team’s cumulative player compensation.”
49ers General Manager John Lynch, left, and head coach Kyle Shanahan speak to members of the media as players clear out their lockers following the team’s 25-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. AP It was determined that the 49ers “would have remained under the salary cap at all times regardless of the error and there was no intent to circumvent the cap.”
The Niners took full responsibility for the issue and said that they had no issue with the NFL punishment that was handed down on Monday.
Explore More
“We take responsibility and accept the imposed discipline from the NFL due to a clerical payroll error,” the 49ers said in a statement. “At no time did we mislead or otherwise deceive the league or gain a competitive advantage in connection with the payroll mistake.”
The NFL did not make it known how big of an error the 49ers had made with the misreporting.
Spotrac had San Francisco finishing the 2022 season $6.4 million under the cap.
General manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers speaks to the media during the NFL Combine. Getty Images Monday was not the first time that the Niners had been investigated by the NFL for potential salary cap violations, nor was it the heftiest punishment they’ve ever faced because of one.
The 49ers were docked $300,000 and had to forfeit a fifth-round draft pick in 2001 and a third-round pick in 2002 after the NFL began investigating the club in July 1999.
San Francisco is coming off an appearance in the Super Bowl earlier this year in which they fell to the Chiefs.
