49ers Player Politely Declines to Return $75,000 Team Accidentally Paid

The 49ers accidentally gave a player an extra $75,000. Then they decided to ask for it back. 

The player declined to return the free cash.

“Would you?” 49ers GM John Lynch jokingly asked reporters Monday from the NFL owners meeting in Florida.

Last week the NFL punished the organization after a review found player payroll errors at the end of 2022. San Francisco lost its ’25 fifth-round pick and moved four spots back from 131st to 135th with its ’24 fourth-round selection. 

Lynch was asked about the situation Monday and revealed the team accidentally overpaid a player by $75,000. 

“It was a clerical error,” Lynch told reporters. “This was back in the COVID era and there was a new system in place and it happened. We own our part.” 

Lynch didn’t name the player who got the extra paycheck, but he said the team made an attempt to get the money back instead of just reporting it, which is how the team got in trouble. He called the NFL’s punishment “a negotiated settlement.” 

The 49ers’ executive said the team could have appealed the process, but he decided to end it and move forward. He added that the lost fifth-round pick is hard to swallow, given the round has been good to San Francisco in recent years. Lynch selected star tight end George Kittle in the fifth round in 2017 and has repeatedly found contributors there.