49ers roster: 5 players with the highest salary cap hits in 2023
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers will say goodbye to a number of hefty contracts in 2023, but these five players still count for a lot of money against the salary cap.
At one point not long ago, the San Francisco 49ers made quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo the highest-paid player in NFL history.
That, despite Garoppolo only having started five games for the Niners, previously.
The perception of contracts, just like anything else, changes over time. When Garoppolo signed that new deal back in the early months of 2018, it was a lofty-but-understandable expense for San Francisco. Not long thereafter, when the market rate on quarterbacks went up, Garoppolo’s deal looked like a bargain.
Heading into the 2022 season, though, it sure seemed as if the 49ers couldn’t wait to get out from underneath the financial burden of it.
They will, officially, in 2023 with Garoppolo hitting free agency.
Garoppolo is one of a number of high-profile free agents to whom the Niners likely bid farewell this offseason, but general manager John Lynch and Co. nevertheless have only a projected $8.16 million in salary cap space, currently.
Why is that number so small?
Well, it might have to do with these five hefty contracts for San Francisco’s players who are making the most in 2023.
Note: All contractual and salary cap information, courtesy of Over the Cap.
49ers top contract No. 5: EDGE Nick Bosa
2023 Cap Hit: $17.859 million (fully guaranteed)
The fifth-biggest cap hit to the 49ers is actually a player still on his rookie contract, Pro Bowl EDGE Nick Bosa, who’ll enter the final year of his deal after likely wrapping up the Defensive Player of the Year award in the wake of his NFL-leading 19.5 sacks.
Not a bad time to cash in on an extension that could make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL awfully soon.
Bosa is going to earn nearly $18 million on a fully guaranteed fifth-year option, and the Niners’ subsequent extension is going tack on an annual value that could potentially exceed $35 million.
Even before that happens, Bosa is still one of San Francisco’s top-paid players heading into 2023.