Biggest winners & losers from 49ers’ record deal with Jimmy Garoppolo
By Peter Panacy
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
OK, so the 49ers are now paying more money than any other NFL team for a quarterback. For any player, in fact.
San Francisco 49ers
A bad thing?
No. Not at all. Especially when San Francisco entered this offseason with more cap space than anybody.
Prior to the deal, Over the Cap had the Niners’ cap space over $113 million. Jimmy Garoppolo’s deal will probably be front-loaded, but the $27.5 million annual average salary means the team will still have roughly $85 million left to lure in talent and/or extend on-roster players.
Knowing the difference Garoppolo made with an average supporting cast, general manager John Lynch can still make some serious upgrades.
Better yet, the 49ers no longer have to worry about their quarterbacking situation.
And if the finances bother you, consider this — Garoppolo’s market value would have only increased had the team placed a franchise tag on him. The market on soon-to-be free-agent quarterbacks is only going to get higher too.
Much higher.
It’s a point Niner Noise made just before news of the deal went public. In short, such a massive contract won’t seem so lucrative a year or two from now.
Perhaps sooner.