Mykel Williams signs rookie contract with San Francisco 49ers

Plenty of high-end EDGE prospects were at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft. One of those was Mykel Williams out of Georgia, eventually hearing his name called at No. 11 overall. Williams will begin his career out West with the San Francisco 49ers.

With the selection comes a new payday for Williams. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, a four-year contract extension has been signed by the rookie. He will make $24.9 million, all of which is guaranteed. To make matters better, a sizeable signing bonus is going home with Williams as well.

“The #49ers have signed No. 11 overall pick DL Mykel Williams to his four year, fully guaranteed $24.9M contract with a $14.8M signing bonus,” Rapoport said via X.

As usual with players taken in the first round, a fifth-year option will be available for the 49ers. A few seasons have to pass before a decision on that is made. First, San Francisco will see what Williams is able to provide inside their organization. And they appear pretty excited.

“The film is very impressive,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said after the draft. “Mykel is a big, good-looking kid in every way. He’s big, he’s tall, he’s long. He’s a great athlete. He’s tough, he’s smart. He can play outside. He can play inside. He does all those things.

“I think the toughness, he played through an ankle injury last year. Missed two games, but a high-ankle sprain can be a tough deal. To only miss two games and play as well as he did. He came through here on a 30 visit. We really got a feel for this kid. And I just think that, all of that led us to this guy is a Niner. He fits who we are. Our culture.”

As Lynch mentioned, Williams did miss two games during the 2024 season. He wound up playing in 12 total and putting up good numbers. Only 21 tackles but Williams put together five sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss. SEC offensive tackles did not have an easy assignment against him, especially with other talented Georgia defensive linemen across the line.

San Francisco is hoping similar numbers can be put up in their defense. Robert Saleh is back with the organization, taking over as the defensive coordinator. You know he has to be excited to work with a prospect such as Williams heading into the season.