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USATSI

Nick Bosa already has a Defensive Player of the Year award on the résumé, but the star 49ers pass rusher is arguably just now entering his prime. The 25-year-old is about to embark on his fifth season in the NFL and before Week 1 rolls around he could be one of the highest-paid defensive players in the league, if not resetting the market entirely. 

Bosa is entering the final year of his rookie deal after the Niners picked up his fifth-year option last offseason and now the attention turns to the defensive end coming to terms on what is likely to be a massive extension. He told reporters on Tuesday during San Francisco's minicamp that he is confident that the extension will get done by the time training camp rolls around. 

"It's pretty high," Bosa said when what his confidence level was about getting a deal done, via NFL.com "Yeah, I think I'm pretty confident about that."

Bosa is well-positioned to be one of the highest-paid players in the NFL. After missing most of the 2020 campaign due to a torn ACL, he came back in 2021 to record a then-career-high 15.5 sacks and led the NFL with 21 tackles for a loss en route to a Pro Bowl nod. He followed that up with a Defensive Player of the Year-winning season in 2022 where he led the NFL with 18.5 sacks while anchoring San Francisco's top-flight defense. 

When you look at his production and how important he is to the 49ers' operation, it shouldn't be a surprise whenever he puts pen to paper on a monster contract. 

As for what Bosa could be looking at in his next deal, Spotrac projects that he could see a four-year, $114.6 million contract that would pay him $28.6 million on an average annual value basis. That would make Bosa the second-highest-paid defensive player in the NFL and only looking up to Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The deal would also eclipse the four-year, $112 million contract the Pittsburgh Steelers gave fellow pass rusher T.J. Watt back in 2021.

"I think I'll get what I deserve," Bosa said.