The San Francisco 49ers took care of business by handing Nick Bosa a record-breaking contract. (AP … [+]
San Francisco 49ers star pass rusher and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa made his way back to the Bay Area late Wednesday night.
Bosa’s presence in Northern California came hours after he inked a record-breaking contract with San Francisco following a lengthy holdout.
“Hey faithful. I’m back, baby. Sorry for the scare, Bosa told those on hand as he landed in the Bay Area. “Let’s go win some games.”
The former No. 2 pick is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at $34 million per season. Bosa’s deal comes out to $170 million over five years with $122.5 million in total guarantees.
For both the star pass rusher and the organization, this ends what were extensive negotiations heading into Sunday’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s now likely to suit up in just a few days.
“I mean, there is some question because we haven’t seen him,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters when asked if Bosa would suit up on Sunday. “But I think you guys know how I’m talking. He’d have to have a beer belly and be out of shape or something, which that’s not in Bosa’s DNA.”
It’s not yet known how many snaps Bosa will take when San Francisco opens its regular season on the road. But Wednesday’s news was about a lot more than one game or the short-term. It was more about getting one of the best NFL players locked up for five years and moving on with the drama of the past several weeks.
San Francisco 49ers Take Care Of Offseason Priority With Nick Bosa Contract
That has to be considered the biggest takeaway here. Both Bosa and the 49ers’ brass had expressed confidence throughout the offseason that he’d be locked up before Week 1.
“It’s pretty high. I think I am pretty confident about that. I think I’ll get what I deserve,” Bosa told reporters back in in June about his confidence level that a new deal would get done soon.
The 49ers knew they had to back up that proverbial Brinks Truck for Bosa ahead of Week 1. It was going to be a complicated contract. There were a lot more factors involved than total value or average annual salary. Contract length, fully guaranteed cash and total guarantees were three factors the sides had to work through.
Bosa’s importance to the 49ers can’t be overstated. Last season saw the former Ohio State star rack up 48 quarterback hits, 19 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks. Not a single returning member of the 49ers outside of Bosa had more than three sacks a season ago. Again, his importance has been on display during the star’s four-year in run in Santa Clara.
Finances Of The Nick Bosa Contract And What It Means
The Nick Bosa contract is another example of the San Francisco 49ers paying out big bucks. (Photo by … [+]
The full details of Bosa’s extension are not yet known. That is to say, fully guaranteed cash and yearly salary cap break down.
What we do know is that Bosa’s $34 million annual salary makes him the highest-paid defender in NFL history, just over $2 million more than Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald. His $122.5 million in practical guarantees ranks a whopping $22.5 million more than the second highest-paid defender, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett.
Practical guarantees are just an industry way of saying cash that is guaranteed for injury only. Once the fully guaranteed total comes out, we’ll know more about the overall structure of Bosa’s contract.
The structure is going to be important when it comes to San Francisco’s long-term salary cap health. By virtue of frontloading other massive deals in the past, a lot will have to be done following the 2023 campaign.
In addition to Bosa, the 49ers now have six players who are all among the highest-paid at their respective positions on a per-year basis in the NFL. Of that group, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Trent Williams and Fred Warner are set to count a combined $92-plus million against the cap in 2024. Three other players — Deebo Samuel, Arik Armstead and Charvarius Ward — have combined cap hits of $73-plus million. That’s $165 million allocated to seven players.
We’ll see some salary cap gymnastics from the 49ers’ brass moving forward. That happened on Wednesday, shortly after Bosa inked his extension. San Francisco saved north of $23 million by restructuring the contracts of Kittle and Williams.
Per Spotrac, San Francisco now has the third-most cap room in the NFL at $24.62 million. In fact, this figure will grow once the details of Bosa’s contract come out. His figure for 2023 will be dramatically smaller than if he had played under his original $17.85 million salary.
There’s no reason to believe the 49ers are going to make a big move with that excess of money. But it does give them some flexibility should a player at a need position become available ahead of the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline. We saw this come into play after San Francisco acquired McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers last season.
The likelier scenario is that a vast majority of this money will roll into next season, creating more long-term flexibility in the process.
The 49ers made a big commitment Wednesday by signing Bosa to a record-breaking contract. It will have some financial ramifications moving forward. That’s for sure. But it’s a move they needed to make in order to keep that championship window open.
