03 Jul Mostert Wants More

 With the off-season in full gear, more money-related news came in for the San Francisco 49ers this week. This season’s breakout running back Raheem Mostert reportedly requested a pay raise. According to Josina Anderson, with this request, Mostert wants a more significant salary, considering his number of snaps and overall usage will likely be increasing. 

After one of the most efficient seasons by a 49ers running back in recent memory, Mostert exceeded the expectations of many by far. He took the league by storm with his stretch of dominant play. During the regular season, even with limited snaps, Mostert ran for 772 yards on a minuscule 137 carries, averaging 5. yards per carry. He also found the endzone 8 times. Aside from that, he hauled in 14 receptions for 180 years and two more scores as well. 

Need more? In the playoffs – where stars are born – he single-handedly carried the 49ers’ offense in the playoffs. He ran for over 300 yards on 53 carries! Although the majority of his numbers came from the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers (29 carries, 220 yards), he still averaged over 4.5 yards per carry in the other two games, an efficient performance. 

Now with this numbers in mind, one can understand why he wants a raise. He is currently on track to make over $3M for the upcoming season, with another $3M due to him for the 2021 season. He signed a three-year extension with the team last year, with a total salary of $8.7M. 

Running backs are arguably the worst paid position group in football – mainly due to the heavy number of players at the position available, as well as the replaceability of the position. You’ll often hear the saying, “Never pay a running back!”  

To many coaches, especially Kyle Shanahan, running backs are both valuable and expendable. If he has a guy who will fit his system, he won’t hesitate to pay them. However, we also have seen how effective he can be with guys who many may not know of (see: Jeff WIlson Jr., Raheem Mostert).