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The San Francisco 49ers are making a significant change to Deebo Samuel’s contract before the 2024 regular season begins later this week. After locking down both WR Brandon Aiyuk and OT Trent Williams, the 49ers are freeing up cap space by restructuring Samuel’s deal.
The move was first reported on September 3 when ESPN reporter Field Yates announced several restructures across the league.
“The 49ers restructured the contract of WR Deebo Samuel, creating $16.4M in cap space,” Yates wrote on X. “The Ravens restructured the contracts of DT Nnamdi Madubuike, K Justin Tucker and LB Roquan Smith, creating $9.3M in cap space. The Jets restructured the contracts of LB Quincy Williams and TE Tyler Conklin, creating $8M in cap space.”
Considering that San Francisco just signed Williams to a new deal, reworking Samuel’s deal to free up space only makes sense. However, the 49ers were more liquid coming into September 3 than some may realize.
Additional context on Williams’ deal from NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero shows that the 49ers have benefitted from their rollover cap from last year.
“How are the #49ers affording to get all these contracts done?” Pelissero wrote. “Believe it or not, they entered today with an NFL-high $50 million in 2024 cap space, thanks largely to a league-high rollover of unused cap from 2023. The beauty of having a top QB making under $1 million.”
Samuel Looking for First Pro Bowl Since 2021
There’s no question that Samuel is one of the 49ers’ most important offensive players. However, San Francisco has such an impressive collection of weapons that Samuel’s production has regressed over the past two seasons.
Injury also played a factor in 2022 and 2023, the first year especially. Samuel only played in 13 games in 2022 before starting 15 time in 2023. After 1770 total yards and 14 touchdowns in his All-Pro campaign in 2021, Samuel’s best year since was last fall when he totaled 1117 yards and 12 touchdowns according to PFR.
That’s still a great year, but it has prompted questions of Samuel’s place in the team and if the 49ers should be paying the team’s No. 2 receiver that much. Either way, San Francisco has successfully restructured his deal and ensured that the team’s best players are all still on the roster.
Details on 49ers OT Trent Williams’ Deal
While already dealing with Aiyuk’s contract saga, the 49ers seemingly couldn’t catch a break when Williams also expressed his intention to holdout. However, the team can go into their first game with good morale and their best players.
Williams’ holdout did cost him some money though, as his fines cannot be waived. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport broke down the situation on X.
“In 2024, Trent Williams gets $27.6M in salary — more than the original figure of $20.05M, per @eliteloyaltysp. With just over $2M in fines, it’s roughly $5M more than he was on the books for. He’s the NFL’s third-highest paid lineman, but earns more cash than any this year,” Rapoport wrote.
Williams will also get a $25.69 million signing bonus. Essentially, he’s looking at $53.3 million for his 2024 season. Considering he’s 36 years old, it very well could be the last major payday for Williams.
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49ers Make $16.4 Million Decision on Deebo Samuel Contract