San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's 2025 extension is going to start hitting the pocketbooks heavily over the next few years, meaning general manager John Lynch and the front office have to be cognizant of their player spending to stay salary cap compliant.
For years, particularly when Purdy was on his rookie deal, this was fairly easy to do and allowed the Niners to spend heavily on star talent to surround the quarterback.
Now, though, it won't be as easy. And it's tougher with plenty of other star players receiving top-dollar money at their respective positions.
However, a particular deal this offseason for one of those stars could easily alleviate some of San Francisco's current salary-cap concerns entering 2026 by saving more than $15 million in the process.
The best part? It wouldn't involve a cap casualty.
49ers could save $15-plus million by restructuring Trent Williams' contract
Currently, per Over the Cap, the 49ers boast an estimated $23.33 million in cap space for the upcoming season. Roughly $8 million of that will be reserved for signing the crop of 2026 draft picks, and Lynch typically likes to save about $10 million in "emergency funds" for in-season roster moves; a necessity, in light of the Niners' ongoing plight with injuries.
That leaves about $5 million. Not much.
However, restructuring All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams' current deal would give plenty of breathing space... err, cap space back to San Francisco.
According to OTC, it'd be $15.76 million in cap space generated.
By tacking on void years to the back end of Williams' contract, the 49ers would spread out cap hits into signing bonuses that are prorated onto those void years. Williams would still get his money up front, yes, but the cap hit would be spread out.
The 49ers have already done this with the future Hall of Famer before. But, considering he'll be 38 years old by the time the new season starts and his hitting the twilight of his career, spreading out that cap hit doesn't seem like a bad idea whatsoever.
Of course, some see this as proverbially "kicking the can down the road," in terms of cap space. But, with the cap regularly increasing almost on a year-to-year basis, any cap hit would be less substantial in subsequent years than it would be right now.
In Williams' case, it makes plenty of sense.