Colin Kaepernick may have failed to lead the San Francisco 49ers to their second-straight Super Bowl appearance, but the popular quarterback is reportedly due for a lucrative extension this offseason.
According to reports, the 49ers will look to secure a long-term extension with Kaepernick with sources saying that a structure is already in place for the three-year veteran, who will be playing in the final year of his rookie contract next season.
The 26-year-old quarterback failed in his bid to lead the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVIII after losing to eventual champions Seattle Seahawks at the NFC Championship game two weeks ago.
Although the 49ers failed to duplicate their feat last season, Kaepernick is expected to command a lucrative deal since the former Nevada standout is coming off the best season of his career so far.
Kaepernick had 3,197 yards passing with 21 touchdowns, and he feels he deserves a contract that is close or greater than what his peers are getting, particularly the star quarterbacks of other teams.
"I think it's a balance. You want to be paid fairly for what you feel like you're doing in comparison to your peers," Kaepernick said in an interview via CSN Bay Area.
But while he is looking to be paid fairly, the 36th overall pick in the 2011 Draft quickly added that the 49ers should try and balance his contract out in order to have a chance of retaining their core moving forward.
Kaepernick sounded like he is willing to accept lesser money if that is the way to having a good chance of finally winning his first Super Bowl.
"But at the same time, you have to realize that if we want to get Anquan Boldin back, if we want Donte Whitner to come back, we're going to have to make moves to get them back and there has to be room for everyone," Kaepernick stressed. "And that's something that I'm going to let my agent and the organization try to figure out. But, hopefully, it's a situation where we can assemble the best team that we need."
And for his part, the quarterback, who previously made waves with his tattoos and questions about his ethnicity and race, vowed to train hard in the offseason in hopes of improving not just one, but all aspects of his game.
"To me, I'm trying to focus on what I need to do to get ready for next season and improve myself so I can help improve this offense and ultimately help win the Super Bowl," Kaepernick said.
