While the focus has rightly been heavily on Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation, the 49ers have another wide receiver contract to figure out. First-round pick Ricky Pearsall is the lone member of San Francisco’s 2024 draft class that hasn’t signed his rookie deal.
Ideally rookies would be signed well before camp to ensure they’re in every practice leading up to the start of the regular season, but it’s also not a huge deal yet that Pearsall’s deal isn’t totally ironed out.
Given the new rookie scale there isn’t any negotiation over years and dollars on the deal. All there is to figure out is minutiae of the contract language which is usually a formality. It can get a little sticky though, especially when San Francisco is also trying to get a long-term extension done with Aiyuk.
For Pearsall there’s no real concern that he’s going to hold out. However, if he hasn’t put pen to paper on his rookie contract by the time camp starts he runs the risk of missing valuable practice reps. The No. 31 overall pick doesn’t figure to be a starter in Year 1, but he should have a chance to factor in as a third or fourth wide receiver when the entire receiving corps is healthy.
He got off to a strong start in OTAs and mandatory minicamp which will help him hit the ground running in camp. Continuing his ascension once things get serious in late July and early August is going to be essential. Pearsall won’t be able to do that if he’s not on the field.
Rookies are slated to report to camp on July 16, a week before veterans are scheduled to arrive on July 23. That gives Pearsall and his agent some time to hammer out that deal before the real practices start. As long as he has a contract by Day 1 of camp then everything should be fine. If he starts missing vital practice reps though there could be a larger problem. This will be something to keep a close eye on as the rookie reporting date approaches.
