With the passage of the NFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), there will be many changes to the NFL that will have a major effect on the San Francisco 49ers. Niner Noise breaks down three key ones and what to make of them.
The NFL’s new CBA passed by a 1,019-to-959 vote, according to NFL.com among various sources, guaranteeing 11 more years of NFL football with major changes at hand. In a USA Today breakdown of the CBA, they outlined the six biggest takeaways.
The biggest ones, of course, are the addition of another regular-season game and reshaping of the playoffs, functionally pushing the Super Bowl two weeks. With now 17 games before a four-week playoff, there will be a lot more football to be seen.
Another note, that while not specifically related to the San Francisco 49ers organization as a whole, is players will no longer be suspended if tested positive for marijuana. That might be the only true concession from the owners in the entire deal. The players also got an additional 0.5 percent of revenue sharing, a large amount of money given the billions the NFL gives in, but a small amount given the intrinsic value players have towards the product.
In any case, the new CBA is now officially passed, which means major changes for all NFL teams, some positive and some negative.
For the 49ers, as an organization, the positives seem to outweigh the benefits, especially considering their current position right now.
Niner Noise will go through three specific impacts of the CBA that will matter the most to the everyday state of affairs for San Francisco.
Seven-team playoffs
For basically any team, adding the number of available spots in the playoffs would be a net benefit. Although recent history has negated the idea that once you’re in the playoffs, it’s anyone’s game, getting into the playoffs does offer a chance at glory and provides a meaningful experience to younger players.
However, for the 49ers, the addition of the additional spot will be more valuable simply because of the strength of their future schedule. And no, this isn’t some analysis of the various permutations 49ers schedules could take. This is simply a comment on the NFC West as a whole.
The Seattle Seahawks, despite a firm adherence to avoid spotlighting quarterback Russell Wilson, manage to stay in playoff contention because of their star quarterback. It doesn’t matter how it happens; all that matters is that until proven otherwise, the Seattle Seahawks will be a force to deal with every year.
The Arizona Cardinals took good steps forward under the first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury and with the talent of quarterback Kyler Murray as well as a defense with a star pass-rusher in Chandler Jones, they have considerable talent and could take a strong sophomore year leap off the backs of Murray’s continued growth. The Cardinals haven’t been major players in the NFC West for a while, but just as the 49ers are on the rise, they are as well.
Then there are the Los Angeles Rams, who somehow managed to regress in every meaningful way last year. While the true abilities of the Rams may reside somewhere between that Super Bowl run and last year’s team, playing within this new system would have qualified for the playoffs as the seventh team. They are also a contender for a playoff spot.
That leaves the 49ers in a division where every team has meaningful and founded playoff aspirations. An additional playoff spot only gives more buffer when dealing with such a high number of talented opponents.
Increased roster sizes
Another component of the new CBA, in part to mitigate the several impacts of having more NFL games, would be the expansion of the 53-man roster to 55 players, the same expansion to the 46 active players on game day and an increase of the practice squad from 10 to 14 players.
For the 49ers, who have dealt with more injuries than anyone can simply remember off the top of their heads, the practice squad has been an important tool. In just the last two years (h/t to both NBC Sports and Niners Nation), players such as tight end Ross Dwelley, quarterback Nick Mullens, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. have been 49ers practice squad players.
Expanding the practice squad lets the 49ers potentially keep and save more players than before, a practice that has benefited them in the past and could do so in the future. The addition of two additional roster spots has a myriad of impacts.
For starters, the Niners could simply keep two borderline players they like rather than having to risk them to the waiver wire. Examples of that might include 2019 sixth-round NFL Draft pick, tight end Kaden Smith, who was cut for roster space by the Niners and enjoyed a productive season with the New York Giants.
A more fitting approach, especially given the state of the 49ers roster and their expectations for next year, would be an increase in low-stakes, high-reward signings, much like their attempt with cornerback Jason Verrett last year.
In the NFL, roster spots are simply a matter of opportunity cost — the next best alternative for the 49ers. Potentially swinging for a player who, if healthy or at a reasonable state, could provide an incredible impact at a limited price is exactly the type of move contenders should look for. I wrote about the 49ers potentially signing tight end Jordan Reed using this very logic.
Two more roster spots only allow for more of this style of thinking.
2021 salary cap spike
According to FanSided.com, the 2021 salary cap could potentially reach up to $240 million. This was based on the salary cap for 2020 to be around $200 million, and that was announced to be $198.2 million, according to Touchdown Wire. Yet, the logic is sound. An additional regular-season game and an additional week of the playoffs would raise overall revenue by a decent margin, and more games would make future TV deals far more lucrative.
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A large jump in 2021’s salary cap can be expected.
The 49ers, because of their all-in nature the last two years as a result of the open cap space they had, are currently not in a fantastic cap position. As it stands, they have many good players to pay, and before this CBA was passed, not enough money to do so. They started to clear money for this offseason by restructuring linebacker Kwon Alexander‘s contract, but they still are looking at some tough decisions.
The next year doesn’t expect to get any easier with both stalwart tight end George Kittle and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner up for future extensions. That’s where the spike helps.
With more money available, the 49ers could fit both contracts without much worry as well as take care of other needs. This would provide major relief and an opportunity to keep talent in a way not commonly seen in the NFL. It also could potentially let the 49ers be players in the 2021 free-agent market, though I would not bet much on that possibility.
This CBA will change the way NFL football has run in a way not usually seen. But within change, there is always an opportunity for certain actors. For the 49ers, they have access to that opportunity.