NFL metes out draft punishment to 49ers for ‘payroll account errors’

The 49ers' accounting errors merit a slap on the wrist from NFL in the form of minor draft punishment.

The 49ers will pick a little later in the fourth round this year and will forfeit a fifth-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft after being penalized by the NFL for payroll accounting errors at the close of the 2022 league year.

The punishment amounts to a slap on the wrist for this year’s draft from April 25-27 in Detroit. Instead of picking at No. 131 overall, the 49ers were pushed to the very end of the round following compensatory picks at No. 136.

It gets a little more painful next year with the forfeiture of a fifth-round pick.

“This action resulted from a league review that found administrative payroll accounting errors at the close of the 2022 league year that resulted in a misreporting of the club’s cumulative player compensation,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email. “The NFL determined that the club would have remained under the salary cap at all times regardless of the error and there was no intent to circumvent the cap.”

The 49ers issued the following statement regarding the sanctions: “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.”

The 49ers have 10 selections in this year’s NFL Draft, starting with the No. 31 overall selection in the first round. They have three picks in the fourth round, including No. 124, which they received from Dallas in exchange for quarterback Trey Lance, and two picks in the sixth round.