SAN FRANCISCO -- Two-time Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore hopes there will be progress toward a new contract with the 49ers after the team's management meets Monday with his representative.
The 49ers have a sit-down scheduled with agent Drew Rosenhaus, but Gore said he doesn't plan to participate in the talks.
"Nah, I'm a football player," Gore said. "If I was an agent, I would, I'd do it. That's my agent's job. Hopefully, man, hopefully, hopefully. I hope it gets done, and I hope I can get something fair."
Gore's unsettled contract situation has been a point of frustration during training camp, though he has said he will accept becoming a free agent after this season if he doesn't receive a new deal. Gore would like a long-term contract to stay put with the 49ers, and new coach Jim Harbaugh is optimistic it will happen. General manager Trent Baalke said this past week that he'd like to make Gore a "49er for life."
"I have my days, but after I take the field, I don't think about it," Gore said of his uncertain future. "I'll be there for my team and try to get some wins."
Gore repeatedly has said he hopes to receive a new deal before the Sept. 11 opener against the defending NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks. If he doesn't receive a contract, Gore said he wouldn't request a trade.
"It's up to the team. I don't have nothing to do with that," Gore said Saturday night after a 30-7 loss to the Houston Texans in which he didn't play. "If the team wants to do that, hopefully they don't. I want to be here. I want to be a 49er. I want to be treated right."
Gore has played more in the preseason than he's accustomed to -- and more than he likes, for that matter -- but he has said he's willing to do whatever Harbaugh asks. Harbaugh didn't start Gore on Saturday night, as Anthony Dixon played with the first-team offense.
Gore said Harbaugh told him earlier in the week that he wouldn't play.
"I respect Coach Harbaugh. Whatever he says, I'm going to do," Gore said. "Coach is a great coach. I like him a lot, and I respect him a lot."
Gore, who held out for the first four days of training camp, missed the final five games of last season with a broken right hip. He was injured during a Monday night game at Arizona on Nov. 29.
Gore, 28, would like a contract comparable to the five-year, $43 million deal that running back DeAngelo Williams -- 20 days older than San Francisco's star -- recently received from the Carolina Panthers. That includes $21 million guaranteed. Williams was sidelined for 10 games last season with a sprained right foot.
Gore ran for 853 yards and three touchdowns last season, his sixth in the NFL, and he also caught 46 passes for 452 yards and two touchdowns. Gore's 24 100-yard rushing games are the most in 49ers history.
"I'm ready," Gore said. "I've been. I trained my behind off this offseason. I practice hard every day as you all see. When my number's called, 21's going to be ready. ... I just hope everything gets taken care of so I can be mind right, just ready to play football."
The 49ers rewarded two other big stars with long-term contracts last year.
On the eve of the 2010 season opener, tight end Vernon Davis signed a five-year extension worth $37 million overall, including $34 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid tight end in NFL history. In May of last year, All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis received a five-year, $50 million contract extension that takes him through the 2016 season and includes $29 million in guaranteed money. He earns $10 million per season.
"I want something to get done before the season," Gore said. "Hopefully it can get done, something fair. If it don't happen, I've still got to be here for my teammates and try to stick it out."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
