49ers Forfeit 2025 Draft Pick And Have Another One Dropped After “Payroll Error”

Well, this is a first.

The San Francisco 49ers lost a draft pick and had another dropped on Monday after a series of administrative payroll accounting errors, the National Football League announced.

The 49ers will lost their fifth-round pick in 2025 draft and have their fourth-round pick in this year’s draft drop from No. 131 to No. 135. The NFL says the payroll errors were from the end of the 2022 league year, and that they resulted in a “misreporting of the team’s cumulative player compensation.”

The 49ers will move to the end of the fourth round in next month's draft and forfeit their 2025 fifth-round pick due to payroll errors (via @MaioccoNBCS) https://t.co/9QguI5D6F7

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) March 18, 2024

Despite the mishaps, the league said the 49ers remained under the salary cap through the duration of the season, and that this was not done in an intent to circumvent the salary cap. The 49ers released the following statement:

#49ers statement: “We take responsibility and accept the imposed discipline from the NFL due to a clerical payroll error. At no time did we mislead or otherwise deceive the league or gain a competitive advantage in connection with the payroll mistake.” https://t.co/QaCVgTILBj

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 18, 2024

The 49ers will have 10 picks in next month’s draft after their Super Bowl run, including the No. 31st overall pick and three in the fourth round. The No. 135th pick will take place after the compensatory picks as a result of the penalty.