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As the christening of the Field of Jeans approaches, a key player will be there, despite a lengthy holdout. And while guard Alex Boone did indeed work out a deal that gives him some more money on what otherwise would be the last two years of his current deal, the 49ers had a chance to get Boone for a lot less.

Sort of.

Per a league source, Boone offered to play in 2014 for $1, if he could become a free agent after the season. While the 49ers would have been required by the CBA to pay Boone much more than that as the minimum salary, Boone would have donated everything except $1 to charity.

The team declined. Ultimately, the situation was resolved. But it could have been resolved a lot sooner — and Boone would have made a lot less money — if the 49ers were willing to let Boone become a free agent in March 2015.