Raheem Mostert on Wednesday formally requested a trade. His agent, Brett Tessler, cited a contract dispute as the reason for the request. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport had additional details after talking with Tessler, and it turns out the chasm between the 49ers and their running back is not very wide.
Per Rapoport, Tessler’s “request was simply to bring Mostert in line with the highest paid RBs on the team.” Tevin Coleman is San Francisco’s highest-paid RB with a $4,550,000 base salary. Mostert’s comes up short of that at $2,575,000. Both backs earn a $250,000 roster bonus. Coleman’s workout bonus is $100,000. Mostert’s is $50,000.
In all the two sides are roughly $2 million apart. That seems like a rift that could be pretty easily closed even in a hard-cap system with so much future uncertainty. Mostert inked a three-year, $8.7 million contract last offseason when he figured to mostly contribute on special teams.
A breakout season on offense where he tied for the team-high in carries with 137, and led the team with 772 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He was also the offensive star of the 49ers’ blowout of the Packers in the NFC championship game when he racked up 220 yards and four touchdowns.
At 28-years old, it makes sense that Mostert would want to cash in on his success as soon as possible. It also makes sense for the 49ers to wait and see if Mostert can replicate his success in an expanded role. The team could also argue that he’s relatively one-dimensional, although his opportunities as a receiver were few last season with Coleman getting most of the work in the passing game.
Either way, San Francisco holds most of the leverage in this situation with head coach Kyle Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner carrying sterling reputations for developing running backs and putting them in positions to succeed. Mostert is an asset for the 49ers’ offense and he should probably get a pay bump. It’s hard to believe a spat over $2 million is going to be enough of a wedge to keep the two sides permanently apart.