It turns out a fifth-round pick is worth about $75,000.
49ers general manager John Lynch on Monday at the NFL owners meetings told reporters the team’s accounting error that cost them a 2025 fifth-round pick came during the 2020 season when they overpaid a player by $75,000.
Instead of reporting the mistake to the league, the team tried to get the money back from the player. They were unable to do so, and their mistake was caught by the league heading into this season.
Since San Francisco didn’t circumvent the salary cap or do anything maliciously their punishment was relatively mild. Their No. 131 pick in the fourth round of this year’s draft dropped to No. 135, while their 2025 fifth-round pick was vacated. Still, Lynch told reporters he disagreed with the level of punishment the NFL handed down per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
While the 49ers may not have made the mistake on purpose, the league still has to ensure punishments are levied for such errors. Given the nature of this miscue, the punishment is probably fitting. Surely San Francisco will report the mistake through the proper channels in the future.
