Getty George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers leaves the field following a 27-24 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams 27-24 at SoFi Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Building a successful NFL team isn’t easy, but the San Francisco 49ers can say they’ve done it after two NFC Championship visits in 2019 and 2021.
Unfortunately, the NFL salary cap exists and means they can’t pay everyone. The team has already seen its fair share of contributors from the 2019 run to the Super Bowl depart, and there’s likely more coming when free agency hits.
But it’s not all “goodbyes,” as the brains in the 49ers front office are known for getting good value on contracts. Considering San Francisco only has $2.95 million in 2022 cap space as of late February, the front office is going to be busy again this year.
This is why ESPN reporter Nick Wagoner believes that tight end George Kittle and a couple of other stars are likely names to have their contracts restructured. Getting money off the books this year(and instead constricting space in the future,) is key if the 49ers want to resign stars like Deebo Samuel.
“Which means the Niners,” Wagoner wrote. “In addition to moving Garoppolo, will have to explore other avenues to create cap space. The most common way to do that would be with simple contract restructures (converting base salaries into signing bonuses that can be spread out over the remaining years on a contract). Kittle, defensive lineman Arik Armstead and free safety Jimmie Ward are among the targets for such a move, with the Niners able to save up to roughly $24 million by restructuring their contracts.
Doing all of those things could give the Niners about $40 million in cap space for 2022.”
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49ers Set to Pay Deebo, Bosa
$40 million in cap space isn’t a small amount, but the 49ers need all the money they can get from the restructuring of the Kittle deal and elsewhere. Sure, investing in free agency is an important part of the offseason, but San Francisco has to make sure they pay their current stars beforehand.
Besides Samuel, 49ers star pass rusher Nick Bosa easily proved why he’s worth the money. After missing most of 2020 with an ACL injury, Bosa returned with 19.5 sacks in 20 games, four of which came in the playoffs.
General manager John Lynch was asked about Bosa and Samuel on February 1, and gave a confident answer that implies the deals are being worked on. Both aren’t free agents until 2023, so getting a deal done this year wraps up any concerns of them leaving after the upcoming season.
“We fully understand these guys are pillars of what we’re trying to do here,” Lynch said. “We’ve been blessed that we’ve been aggressive, because we’ve had a lot of players that we believe are some of the best in the league at what they do. And these guys are no different… I’m sure that we’ll find a way to get that done. It’s been budgeted for.”
Keeping Free Agents a ‘Top Priority’
Besides resigning names like Samuel and Bosa, there’s also the players who are actually becoming free agents this offseason like guard Laken Tomlinson, defensive tackle D.J. Jones and edge rushers Arden Key.
Wagoner believes bringing those three players back should be very high up on the 49ers’ agenda.
“Last year, when the pandemic kept the salary cap down and depressed the market, the Niners kept more free agents than expected,” Wagoner wrote. “Similar factors could be at play this year but players like Tomlinson, Jones and Key should have plenty of suitors. Keeping that trio should be the top priority, but even retaining two of the three would be considered a win.”
It would be a fantastic turn of events if the 49ers keep all of their free agents and resign Samuel and Bosa. Restructuring the contracts of Kittle, Ward and maybe another would be a great way to raise money.