49ers seem committed to Jimmy Garoppolo… right now
By Peter Panacy
49ers haven’t restructured or extended Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract
Jimmy Garoppolo is signed through 2022. Set to earn up to $26.4 million in 2021, according to Over the Cap, it’s reasonable to assume he’d never get that kind of money if he were to hit the open market right now. At least not in the wake of missing the bulk of two of the last three seasons with serious injuries.
Many of the same conversations about Garoppolo sticking around in San Francisco aren’t going to go away anytime soon. Whereas the 49ers could have saved $23.6 million in cap space if he were to become a cap casualty this offseason, that cap-savings number will jump to $25.6 million in 2022 when Jimmy G is set to earn a full $27 million.
The Niners have spent awfully lucratively in NFL free agency this offseason (more on that in a bit) but could have freed up significant amounts of cap space if they restructured or extended Garoppolo — $11.8 million in 2021, which is significant.
But they haven’t done so.
Another sign 49ers eventually move on from Jimmy G. light. Related Story
A key reason why this hasn’t been done is because of the base salary being converted into bonus money, which would then be prorated into additional years on Garoppolo’s deal. The simple explanation is it would help San Francisco save money now at the cost of committing the same cash to Garoppolo for a lot longer timeframe.
The 49ers haven’t done this. And it’s pretty apparent they don’t want to, either, given their current roster moves and ones looming in the near future.
This fact has a direct correlation to some of San Francisco’s other contracts and in a major way. Let’s tackle that next.