The San Francisco 49ers’ general manager, John Lynch, recently announced that he will soon be retiring.

The San Francisco 49ers were fined a 2025 fifth-round pick by the NFL and had their 2024 fourth-round pick pushed back four positions due to a payroll calculation error this summer.

General manager John Lynch claims that the penalty was imposed because the organization inadvertently overpaid a player.

He told reporters, “We paid a guy $75,000 more than we should have.” This happened when the COVID-19 epidemic struck and a new system was put in place. As a result, it happened. We are all accountable for our fair share. We undertook a thorough mitigation procedure in order to address some of the issues that developed. But you take your medication and move on; the league decided to enforce it.

“The person did what you’d anticipate he’d do,” Lynch said, suggesting that once the organization realized its error and tried to recoup the overpayment, the player did not return the money.

He went on to explain that he had a “difference of perspective on the severity” of the penalties levied by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and that the 49ers were not overpaying as a result of the miscalculation.