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Why 49ers’ contract talks with Jimmy Garoppolo are taking so long

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up prior to their game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up prior to their game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 31: General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Argument from the 49ers Camp

I’m not an NFL contract-negotiating expert, although I do understand how NFL salaries, signing bonuses, cap hits and financial impacts go, relatively well.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

But I’ve been in contract negotiations representing other businesses too. In a funny way, your goal is to downsize your counterpart as much as possible without letting that entity feel is if it’s getting “screwed.”

The Niners don’t want to offer an insulting deal. But they’ll want to stick to smart business practices too.

There are plenty of reasons why the 49ers don’t want to hand off a blank check to Jimmy Garoppolo just yet. After all, he has just seven starts under his belt — five with the Niners — which would make his sample size by far the lowest out of any NFL quarterback signing what looks to be a deal in the range of five years, $125 million, per former NFL agent Joel Corry (h/t Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area).

Garoppolo’s seven touchdowns against five interceptions over those five starts, plus one drive in Week 12, are another factor working in San Francisco’s favor. And there’s the analysis on Garoppolo’s deep ball, or lack thereof, as broken down by Pro Football Focus.

Despite all the promise Garoppolo demonstrated over his short time with the Niners in 2017, this is still a tough decision to reach.

Especially if the organization is considering “handing over the keys” to a player with such limited playing time.