SF 49ers aren’t handcuffed like these 3 other quarterback contracts

The SF 49ers have shown mastery with their contract with Jimmy Garoppolo, which stands in contrast to these three handcuffing quarterback deals.

There’s likely to be a lot of quarterback movement this offseason, and the SF 49ers have been swirling around in all the discussion about whether or not they move on from their starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, in 2021.

One of the primary reasons why the Niners can at least entertain this idea is because of his contract terms.

Garoppolo is scheduled to make $26.6 million this upcoming season. But when factoring in his injury history — a torn ACL in 2018 and a bulk of games missed last year because of high-ankle sprains — one can almost automatically assume he won’t get that kind of money as a would-be free agent. So, while Garoppolo owns a no-trade clause, approving a move from San Francisco would be easily one of the smarter decisions he could make from a financial standpoint.

The bigger story, however, is the fact the SF 49ers engineered a contract where only the first two seasons fully committed to Garoppolo, 2018 and 2019. Should Garoppolo be cut or traded, the Niners would save $24.1 million in cap space with just $2.4 million in dead money.

That’s quite the contractual mastery from the team’s chief contracts negotiator, Paraag Marathe.

But what makes it even more interesting is how some other quarterbacks around the league, some well-tied to San Francisco, are in a similar non-committal situation as Garoppolo but are nowhere close to being as movable as Jimmy G.

Let’s take a look at three other quarterback contracts who are handcuffing those teams, making the SF 49ers’ deal with Garoppolo look that much better and smarter.