It’s the offseason in the NFL in terms of games on the field, but for some teams, it’s still an incredibly busy time of year. The San Francisco 49ers are handing out money like it’s candy on Halloween night.
Over the span of a few days, the Niners have agreed to extensions with quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle, and linebacker Fred Warner. Collectively, the players will make $272.7 million in guaranteed money, with the potential to earn $404.4 million.
Warner’s contract is worth $63 million over three years, with $56.7 million guaranteed. Kittle’s deal is worth more at $76.4 million, though only $40 million of that is guaranteed. Purdy got the team’s largest deal—both this offseason and in franchise history—when he agreed to a five-year, $265 million extension that includes $181 million in guaranteed money.
Fred Warner (L) and Brock Purdy have both gotten big new deals. (Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
June 1 is a significant date on the league’s calendar because of salary cap reasons. If a team designates a player to be cut before June 1, the cap hit falls in one season. Designate a player after June 1, and that cap hit can instead be spread out over two seasons.
It can be a potentially tricky area of salary cap management, so we sometimes see teams like the 49ers spending heavily in the weeks leading up to June. In cases like with Warner’s extension, it’s more about moving some money around to reduce cap hits in the short term.
The Niners have had some public and drawn-out contract talks with key players over the past few seasons. Defensive end Nick Bosa, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, and left tackle Trent Williams all eventually signed contract extensions; however, in each case, it didn’t happen until the end of August or beginning of September. By that point, the players had missed the majority (or entirety) of training camp.
This year, the Niners are getting their rosters set much earlier. It’s costing them a pretty penny, but if they can return to the Super Bowl, these stars will be a worthy investment.
