The San Francisco 49ers have been spending big this offseason, though they haven’t necessarily bolstered their roster by doing so.
With so much talent on the squad, the 49ers had multiple key contracts to re-up, most notably that of Brandon Aiyuk. The negotiations were anything but easy.
After finally locking down both Aiyuk and star offensive lineman Trent Williams, San Francisco made one more move in order to free up cap space. The team agreed to restructure the contract of wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who was due to carry a $28.6 million cap hit.
According to multiple reports, the Niners and Samuel agreed to convert his base salary ($21 million) into a signing bonus. In doing so, San Francisco lowered his cap hit from the initial $28.6 million down to $12.2 million and freed up around $16.4 million in savings.
That is significant given the 49ers doled out a four-year, $120 million deal to Aiyuk and agreed to pay Williams a restructured $82.6 million over three years, including $48 million in guaranteed money.
Before restructuring Samuel’s deal, the 49ers boasted more than $51 million in cap space, much of which will likely be rolled over into next year when the team has to lock up Brock Purdy to what figures to be a highly lucrative contract extension.
Samuel, 28, is entering his sixth season in San Francisco. Last year, he caught 60 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns. He also scoried five rushing touchdowns on 37 carries.
