By Daniel Brown and David Lombardi
Jul 8, 2020
Cut seven times during a career mostly spent on the bench, Raheem Mostert savored the spotlight after rushing for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the NFC title game last January.
“I did have a lot of doubters and naysayers,’’ the running back said on the night he helped propel the 49ers past Green Bay and into Super Bowl LIV. “Now I actually get to tell them, ‘Look at where I am now.’
“I never gave up on my dreams.”
That dream gave way to a stark financial reality on Wednesday, as Mostert’s agent tweeted that his client wants out.
After months of unproductive talks with the 49ers about fairly adjusting Raheem Mostert's contract (which paid him for special teams) we have requested a trade. Disappointing that it would come to this for a guy who led all NFL RBs in YPC & helped lead them to the Super Bowl.
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) July 8, 2020
Brett Tessler of Tessler Sports reasons that the running back is no longer a fringe player, and that his pay should better reflect his true role. As it stands, there is roughly a $2 million salary gap between what Mostert is asking and what he’s in line to make for 2020.
“After months of unproductive talks with the 49ers about fairly adjusting Raheem Mostert’s contract (which paid him for special teams) we have requested a trade,’’ Tessler tweeted. “Disappointing that it would come to this for a guy who led all NFL RBs in YPC & helped lead them to the Super Bowl.”
Tessler later expanded with NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, explaining that he wants Mostert to be paid commensurate with the 49ers’ top running backs. The agent noted that Tevin Coleman makes $4.55 million, which is where Mostert would like to be.
In response to a message from The Athletic,Tessler added that Mostert is also looking for more financial security than he has in his current contract.
Mostert has a $2.6 million base salary for next season, but none of that is guaranteed. Meanwhile, $2 million of Coleman’s $4.55 million salary became fully guaranteed in April. Additionally, Coleman can earn up to $350,000 more in per-game and workout bonuses, while Mostert can make a maximum of $250,000.
Raheem Mostert reportedly wants to be paid at Coleman’s level. So the 49ers are dealing with a ~$2 million gap. Here:
BASE SALARIES..
Coleman: $4.6m
Mostert: $2.6mPER-GAME/WORKOUT BONUS TOTAL..
Coleman: $350k
Mostert: $250k https://t.co/YEXwxHNbnA— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) July 8, 2020
How can the 49ers respond? Due to the pandemic, revenue projections for 2020 are in shambles, so the salary cap for 2021 is also a huge unknown. General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan are also tight on cap space to begin with. Even if the 49ers think that paying Mostert more is a great idea, they don’t have much wiggle room.
First major contract discord of the Shanahan/Lynch era, at least the first one to come to the surface like this, with a major contributor.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) July 8, 2020
Mostert is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022 but, considering his contributions on special teams and on offense, there’s little question he’s underpaid. There should be an incentive to get a new deal done with him. The 28-year-old was, by almost any measure, the 49ers’ most productive running back last season. Mostert led all NFL running backs by averaging 5.6 yards per carry. (Overall, he trailed only Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who averaged 7.8 yards.)
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Using Football Outsiders’ formula for defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA), Mostert has an even more sizable edge over his backfield teammates. He led NFL running backs by a wide margin, while Coleman and Matt Breida were both below average. A full analytical breakdown can be found here.
The 49ers traded Breida, their second-leading rusher last season, to the Miami Dolphins for a fifth-round pick in April. That move, combined with Mostert’s prodigious playoff performance, seemed to pave the way for Mostert to take on a more prominent role in 2020 — and he was planning for that scenario.
On a Zoom call with reporters in May, he said was packing on muscle in anticipation of getting at least 200 carries. (He had 137 last regular season, the same as Coleman.)
“I’ve got to get prepared for that, and the only way I know how is to get bulky and stronger,” Mostert said during that call.
Here’s how significantly Raheem Mostert outperformed other 49ers running backs last year. It does put a dent in the “all RBs are replaceable” theory.
Full link to the breakdown: https://t.co/F1OdHzXlWu pic.twitter.com/IuSuOaCdvr
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) July 8, 2020
Suddenly, his trade request represents the rare sign of discord in the Lynch/Shanahan era. It’s also an unexpected test of depth for an offense that relies heavily on a deep stable of backs. The 49ers ran 51.4 percent of the time in 2019. The Ravens (54.1 percent) were the only other NFL team to run more than half the time in 2019.
Doing that meant sharing the ball or, at times, featuring a different running back depending on the weekly game plan. So now the 49ers must determine if they can part with Mostert and rely instead on a combination that also includes fullback Kyle Juszczyk, rehabilitating running back Jerick McKinnon (who hasn’t played a down in two seasons) and last season’s fourth option, Jeff Wilson.
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That group of potential contributors is potentially part of Mostert’s persuasive case for a pay raise. His elusive rating, as calculated by Pro Football Focus, combines factors such as missed tackles and yards averaged after contact.By that count, Mostert’s elusive rating of 86.3 was third best among qualifying NFL backs, behind only the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and the Browns’ Nick Chubb.
Yards before contact per rush
1. Jackson, Ravens: 4.9
2. Mostert, 49ers: 3.5
3. Breida, 49ers: 3.3
4. Christian McCaffrey, Panthers: 3.0
5. Kenyan Drake, Dolphins/Cardinals: 2.8
Recently retired left tackle Joe Staley saw the speed up close. After blocking for Mostert during the NFC title game, he marveled over the back’s sudden bursts.
“He’s so fast,” Staley said. “He’s incredibly fast. He’s fearless going through the hole. He has trust in the linemen to block it up. He’s a great running back.”
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
