Brian Hampton is in his 23rd season with the San Francisco 49ers and second as Assistant General Manager. Prior to his promotion, Hampton spent the previous five seasons (2020-24) as vice president, football administration after 10 seasons (2010-19) as the director of football administration & analytics. Hampton also served as the team's manager of football operations for two seasons and as an analyst before that. He originally joined the 49ers as a football operations intern in late 2003.
Hampton is the club's primary contract negotiator and primarily responsible for roster construction strategy, strategic planning, and management of the organization's player compensation and salary cap. His extensive knowledge of the salary cap has enabled the 49ers to remain competitive year after year, creatively navigating the CBA to both retain and add core players, maximizing the cumulative talent and depth on the roster.
In his role, Hampton works closely with President of Football Operations/General Manager John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan, providing senior leadership and support to the entire football operation. His additional daily football operations duties include overseeing the budgets for all football departments, directly managing the budgets for player compensation, coaching, scouting, executives and football administration. He is also the primary liaison to the NFL Management Council. Hampton built the club's football Research & Development program, finding and developing new ways to gain advantages in both scouting decision making and game-management strategy.
Hampton was a member of the committee that led the 2017 search for the team's General Manager and Head Coach, which resulted in the hiring of Lynch and Shanahan. More recently, he has helped prepare others to become General Managers within the National Football League, by providing guidance and development to associates who ultimately were hired into such roles in Minnesota, Tennessee and Washington. Hampton has also developed and mentored numerous colleagues and interns that have grown into a variety of lead positions across many teams. Hampton, along with a number of individuals that have worked for him, were recognized from a 2024 NFL-wide survey of the "analytics person most likely to become a general manager."
Since Hampton was promoted into a management role, the 49ers have reached the NFC Championship game seven times and advanced to three Super Bowls in 15 seasons. While Hampton served in the booth on the coaches headset during games to provide strategic advice and guide challenge decisions, the 49ers posted a 72-40-1 record and reached the Conference Championship in four of the five seasons, which excludes 2020 where social distancing rules limited the number of people in the booth.
Throughout his tenure, Hampton has played a critical role in the acquisition and retention of key talent that has propelled the 49ers to consistent success. He has been instrumental in crafting the complex contracts that have allowed the team to secure their high-level players, having led contract negotiations for the team with their draft picks, free agents and extensions. The extensive list of Pro Bowl selections Hampton and the 49ers have signed include at least one player at every position on offense, defense and special teams. Hampton's contributions as an expert at navigating the compensatory draft pick allocation process as well as identifying trade opportunities provide the 49ers the ability to accumulate draft picks to select elite players and core contributors throughout each round.
Born and raised in Oakley, CA, Hampton earned a M.A. in sport management from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in business economics from UC-Santa Barbara. Hampton worked for the Santa Barbara Foresters Baseball Club and the UCSB athletic department. Hampton also spent two years directing the UCSB sports fan club and also was elected and served as President of the Associated Students for one year.
Hampton resides in Mountain View, CA, with his wife and children. He is an avid triathlete having completed a number of events, including marathons and Ironman triathlons. He has been recognized by Ironman three times as an All-World Athlete for his performance in annual age group rankings.
