The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a stellar 2023-24 run. San Francisco advanced to Super Bowl 58, but unfortunately lost 25-22 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite their success, the 49ers are facing NFL Draft consequences for accounting errors at the end of the 2022 league year.

49ers face penalties and take responsibility for payroll accounting errors

The league found administrative payroll accounting errors from the 49ers that resulted from the team's misreporting of their cumulative player compensation at the end of 2022, Tom Pelissero reports. As a result, San Francisco will forfeit their original fifth-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

In addition, the team will have their fourth-round selection (#131) move to the end of the round, behind compensatory picks (#135).

The NFL determined that San Francisco would have remained under the salary cap at all times regardless of the error. Moreover, the 49ers released a statement amid the news.

“We take responsibility and accept the imposed discipline from the NFL due to the 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 team announced, per Ari Meirov.

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Despite the error, San Francisco will continue to push forward in their quest to win the ultimate NFL prize.

Can the 49ers get over the hump and win a Super Bowl in 2025?

The 49ers nearly hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy twice between 2020 and 2024. San Francisco lost 31-20 to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 54. Then, the team was bested again in Super Bowl 58 after their repeat defeat to Kansas City.

Nevertheless, SF has the pieces to make another deep run. The team retains the services of two coveted MVP candidates from the 2023-24 season in star quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey.

The offensive juggernauts look to help the 49ers overcome the hump and win a championship. All in all, it will be interesting to see how the team handles the rest of the 2024 offseason.