SANTA CLARA — Jimmy Garoppolo gave center Daniel Kilgore a hearty endorsement once the 49ers season ended, and the 49ers gave Kilgore a three-year contract extension Wednesday to keep him from testing free agency.
Garoppolo’s presence and more financial security are not all that enticed Kilgore to remain with the only team he’s played for since 2011.
“In free agency, you run into the unknown of where you’re going to go and whether the team you go to has that brotherhood, that friendship, that sense of having each other’s back,” Kilgore said on a media conference call. “That was something I didn’t want to give up.
“That was important to me, as a player, as a professional. It’s one of the most important things you can have as a team.”
Kilgore, 30, won the team’s Bobb McKittrick Award last season for the first time in his seven seasons, an honor bestowed upon the offensive linemen that exemplifies the courage, intensity and sacrifice of the team’s former offensive line coach.
“There’s a special relationship between the center and quarterback. We spend so much time together,” Garoppolo said Jan. 1. “Me and him got on the same page almost instantly when I first got here. He made my job a lot easier, helped me with the run game and all that… We complement each other very well.”
Kilgore said he and Garoppolo grew close each rep in practice and game, and the quarterback’s presence benefited all associated with the 49ers.
“He’s a great leader, a great captain for the team on and off the field,” Kilgore said. “Everybody played better. Everybody in the building was doing better in their job, including you (reporters). You were able to actually write something positive.
“It was great to see that growth with Jimmy and make the run we had. It’s something for us to build off for next season.”
Financial terms were not immediately available. Safe to say, Kilgore got considerably less than Garoppolo, who on Thursday signed the largest contract in NFL history at $27.5 million per year through 2022.
Kilgore was home in Tennesse when he signed his deal and held a media conference call, as opposed to Garoppolo’s grand stage after the 49ers flew the quarterback and his family in from Chicago on a private jet last week.
“I’m actually back home waiting for my private jet to fly out to the Bay Area,” Kilgore joked. “It’s 2018. We just did it DocuSign, so it’s all good. I was actually in the middle of working out when I signed my contract. But i would take the private jet, yes.”
“He is very much a leader of this team, and his hard work and commitment to our success provide a great example for our young team,” general manager John Lynch said in a statement. “When you come across players who love the game like Dan, you do your best to keep them in your building.”
Kilgore said of Garoppolo’s deal last week in a text message to this newspaper: “Very well deserving to a guy who has proven to be a winner and leader! Exciting time for the Niner Faithful.”
Kilgore returned from offseason hamstring surgery to beat out two challengers in training camp (Jeremy Zuttah and Tim Barnes) en route to starting every game last season. He snapped the ball in the process to three different quarterbacks, including Garoppolo, who went 5-0 as their starter and developed solid chemistry with Kilgore.
Kilgore was fifth-round draft pick out of Appalachian State and is the lone holdover from the 2011 draft’s 10-man class that included Aldon Smith and Colin Kaepernick. Kilgore replaced Jonathan Goodwin as the 49ers starting center in 2014 but sustained a broken left leg that October and required two surgeries.
“I’ve been here seven years and I consider the Bay Area my second home, so to be able to extend my career wearing the 49ers jersey was special to me,” Kilgore said. “This team heading in the right direction, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan reinforced to Kilgore how excited they were to lock him up as their center, although he acknowledged he got nervous about his future last season and didn’t know if they’d prefer a younger center going forward.
Said Kilgore: “I’ve never been the guy where they’ve slated in as a starter and say, ‘Daniel is our guy.’ There’s always been competition as well I’m sure there will be in the future with free agency coming up, and the Niners go come out and get a free agent offensive linemen.”
Left tackle Joe Staley, the only 49er tenured longer than Kilgore, gave his close friend a strong endorsement last month.
“Daniel, it would be very key to get him back,” Staley said Jan. 1. “He’s been here for a long time and played real well, especially the last half of the season. He knows the system. … He’s a huge part of what we do in the offensive line room and a great teammate.”
Kilgore is the third player the 49ers have re-signed this month, starting with defensive end Cassius Marsh last Wednesday on a two-year deal and then Garoppolo on Thursday.
Garoppolo’s pact quickly got overshadowed when linebacker Reuben Foster was arrested Sunday on suspicion of domestic violence, making threats and possession of an assault weapon; the 49ers and NFL are looking into the matter and no chargers have yet been filed by Santa Clara County prosecutors.
Starters still ticketed for free agency next month are running back Carlos Hyde, linebacker Brock Coyle, safety Eric Reid, cornerback Dontae Johnson, guard Brandon Fusco and defensive ends Tank Carradine and Aaron Lynch.
Said Kilgore: “I don’t want to say that we’re going to be a playoff-contending team or a Super Bowl-winning team. I will say this: you will a team that’s going to work it’s ass off.”
