Report: NFL Owners Complained About 49ers’ Amount of Compensatory Picks From Diverse Hires

San Francisco has reaped the benefits of developing a strong pool of coaches and executives.

Under coach Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers have achieved a level of lasting success they haven't seen in decades: four 10-win seasons in five years for the first time since their run of 16 straight 10-win campaigns from 1983-98.

Shanahan's outside-the-box hiring has been a major factor in this, and has seeded the NFL with his mentees. It has also brought praise to the 49ers for their excellence in diversity hiring—as well as compensatory draft picks in accordance with league rules.

In fact, ESPN's Seth Wickersham reported Wednesday that San Francisco had been so successful in its diversity hiring that it has drawn the ire of the league's other owners.

"Owners have complained to the league office about the sheer number of compensatory picks the 49ers have received for serving as a pipeline for coaches and executives of color," Wickersham wrote in a lengthy profile of Shanahan ahead of Super Bowl LVIII Sunday between the coach's team and the Kansas City Chiefs.

In Jan. 2023, the AP reported that the 49ers had received or were in line to receive eight of the 18 compensatory picks handed out for complying with diversity hiring regulations.

The beneficiaries of San Francisco's practices include some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans and New York Jets coach Robert Saleh.