The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension for general manager John Lynch, which was first reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The new deal keeps Lynch signed with the team through the 2024 season.
The #49ers have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension with GM John Lynch, sources say. They're buttoning up the language on the deal, which is expected to span five years in all. An outside-the-box hire, Lynch is on to his second contract.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 29, 2020
Lynch said Tuesday during an interview on KNBR that he expected some "good news on the horizon" regarding his impending contract extension while explaining why head coach Kyle Shanahan received his new deal first.
"Kyle was first in line because of a lot of semantics," Lynch said. "Frankly, I came in at a good number because I was making real good money at FOX, and Jed (York) and Kyle decided they wanted me, and I had a pretty good gig going, so it was going to take a lot to get me here. So I came in kind of top-of-market, or right there, and Kyle didn't. He was a first-time head coach.
"I understood that Kyle was going to go first, and Jed and Kyle got done. Then a pandemic breaks out. So we kind of put things on hold. I was fine with that. Like you said, I've got three years left, and I was compensated well."
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The 49ers signed Shanahan to a contract extension on June 15 but the deal was believed to have been done before April's draft. The coach's contract keeps him locked up through the 2025 season, one year longer than Lynch.
The hiring of Lynch, a former NFL safety, came as a shock to many since there were no reports of his candidacy for the vacant general manager job after the 49ers fired Trent Baalke. Lynch also had no previous front-office experience before signing with San Francisco.
Following his retirement as a player, Lynch entered the FOX broadcast booth as a color commentator for NFL games from 2008 through 2016.
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The 49ers officially hired Lynch on January 29, 2017, over a week before the team formally named Shanahan as its head coach. The two inherited one of the most talent-depleted rosters in the league.
Lynch and Shanahan kicked off their regime by losing nine consecutive games and winning just 10 games over the first two seasons. The 2019 season was different, however. San Francisco went 13-3 during the regular season, won the NFC West, and earned the best record in the NFC on the way to a Super Bowl LIV appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs.
49ers CEO Jed York in January expressed a desire to lock up both Lynch and Shanahan for the foreseeable future.
"I want those guys here for a long time," York told Bay Area News Group. "If they want to do something, I'd be happy to do it."
