Jimmy Garoppolo: Predicting an extension for 49ers quarterback

Extending or restructuring the contract for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is a way the San Francisco 49ers could free up some much-needed salary cap space in 2020, and Niner Noise predicts the numbers.

The San Francisco 49ers aren’t going to part ways with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo anytime soon, regardless what some of the hot-take analysts mentioned following the team’s loss in Super Bowl LIV to the Kansas City Chiefs.

But another pressing matter is the Niners are faced with some tough decisions ahead, primarily in regards to the salary cap. According to Over the Cap, general manager John Lynch and Co. are armed with $12,108,031 for 2020, which ranks seventh fewest heading into the offseason.

Among those decisions facing San Francisco is whether or not the team should re-sign key pending free agents, such as defensive end Arik Armstead, defensive back Jimmie Ward and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. The market value on those three alone far exceed the resources the 49ers have right now, yet there are means to increase the cap number this offseason.

One of those would be to restructure the deal for Jimmy Garoppolo, which is currently set as follows:

In order to better understand the numbers and would-be impact, Niner Noise reached out to Niners Nation’s Jason Hurley, who also does plenty of 49ers-cap work with Over the Cap and 49erscap.com.

According to Hurley, a restructure would include three-plus voidable years while lowering Garoppolo’s base salary to $820,000.

It’s important to note Garoppolo has the prorated bonus of $1.4 million annually, which could be pushed out over those voidable years.

And in doing so, San Francisco would free up over $19 million for 2020, according to Hurley.

Similar means could also be accomplished via an extension, which would run roughly in the range of $27.5 million annually, as Hurley also pointed out.

There are some complications with this, however. Without diving too deep into the specifics — you can read more about those here and here — teams can take a player’s upcoming salary and convert it into a signing bonus, and the cap hit is spread out over the duration of the contract. Cap hits are then postponed, which could feasibly work out in future years if that team’s cap situation doesn’t wind up being too hectic.

But the situation can often be little more than putting off today’s problem until tomorrow, especially if the deal isn’t constructed correctly or the team’s cap considerations get worse.

Fortunately, 49ers Vice President of Football Operations Paraag Marathe has proven to be a master at navigating the cap and subsequent player contracts. One would figure he has his pulse on the situation as good as anyone, putting the Niners in good position to work something out with Garoppolo in favorable manner.

Either way, one would figure San Francisco looks hard at this option this offseason, seeing whether or not it would be beneficial to change up the deal for Jimmy Garoppolo.