49ers sign right tackle Colton McKivitz to a one-year extension

McKivitz will make $7 million over the course of the next two seasons

According to his agency, Colton McKivitz has received an extension with the San Francisco 49ers through the 2025 season.

In the tweet, it says that McKivitz has a 1-year extension that’ll pay him $7 million with around $4.55 million guaranteed. The front office likely split those guarantees up, so McKivitz won’t account for more than 2 percent of the 49ers cap in 2024 or 2025.

When you see the “$7 million” and read one year, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that the 49ers are paying McKivitz to start. But paying a right tackle no more than $3.5 million in 2024 is not “starter” money.

McKivitz gets plenty of flack for his play, but he was a 5th-round pick. He wasn’t supposed to be the long-term answer at the position. If anything, McKivitz should be commended for the 49ers making the Super Bowl with a first-time Day 3 draft pick starting at a position defenses can attack. And McKivitz made it through an entire season where he only committed two penalties. He competed, and that’s all you can ask for.

When I see that contract, I read it as the team thanking McKivitz for making it through a season, and now we’re going to add competition. The following questions relating to right tackle are whether the 49ers will add competition via free agency, the NFL Draft, or all of the above.

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