An updated look at the 49ers 2024 salary cap situation with 5th-Year contract option numbers for Brandon Aiyuk, & Javon Kinlaw, After the Christian McCaffrey trade

Back in September I went over what we can expect Brandon Aiyuk, & Javon Kinlaw’s 5^th-year options could look like, with them added to 2024, along with the Dre Greenlaw, & Mitch Wishnowsky’s extensions added in, so today we’ll go over this, post Christian McCaffrey trade.

Right now, the 49ers have 27 players signed for 2024, accounting for $203,083,621, along with $819,000 in projected dead money from Oren Burks, giving them a total commitment of $203,902,621, leaving them $52,097,379 under a projected $256 million cap, but that’s with just 27 players signed, so when you add in enough for 51 players, they’d be $33,017,379 under a projected $256 million cap.

Below are the 27 players currently signed for 2024, with their cap numbers.

1. WR 19 Deebo Samuel(2025)- $28,572,000
2. LT 71 Trent Williams(2026)- $28,009,777
3. DT 91 Arik Armstead(2024)- $25,866,000
4. MLB 54 Fred Warner(2024)- $22,100,000
5. TE 85 George Kittle(2025)- $19,842,575
6. CB 7 Charvarius Ward(2024)- $15,405,000
7. RB 23 Christian McCaffrey(2025)- $12,000,000
8. QB 5 Trey Lance(2024)- $10,851,673
9. WLB 57 Dre Greenlaw(2024)- $9,632,382
10. FB 44 Kyle Juszczyk(2025)- $7,588,750
11. P 18 Mitch Wishnowsky(2026)- $2,825,000
12. LG 65 Aaron Banks(2024)- $2,250,694
13. SS 30 George Odum(2024)- $1,625,000
14. DE 95 Drake Jackson(2025)- $1,590,561
15. CB 20 Ambry Thomas(2024)- $1,425,154
16. RB 32 Tyrion Davis-Price(2025)- $1,393,240
17. WR 6 Danny Gray(2025)- $1,375,883
18. RG 74 Spencer Burford(2025)- $1,153,014
19. RT 76 Jaylon Moore(2024)- $1,135,759
20. CB 38 Deommodore Lenoir(2024)- $1,126,217
21. SS 29 Talanoa Hufanga(2024)- $1,115,038
22. RB 25 Elijah Mitchell(2024)- $1,100,893
23. CB 24 Samuel Womack III(2025)- $1,055,831
24. LG 63 Nick Zakelj(2025)- $1,032,590
25. NT 93 Kalia Davis(2025)- $1,018,003
26. QB 13 Brock Purdy(2025)- $1,004,253
27. RB 24 Jordan Mason(2024)- $988,334

As I said in my article about Aiyuk, & Kinlaw’s 5^th-year options, I don’t expect either to hit the Pro Bowl tier, just because it’s so loaded in the NFC for both WR & DT.

For Kinlaw, you have the likes of Aaron Donald(Rams), Leonard Williams(Giants), Vita Vea(Buccaneers), Jonathan Allen(Commanders), Kenny Clark(Packers), Grady Jarrett(Falcons), & Fletcher Cox(Eagles), so it’s unlikely Kinlaw makes the pro bowl.

As for Aiyuk’s competition for the pro bowl, you have his teammate & friend Deebo Samuel, plus the likes of A.J. Brown(Eagles), Cooper Kupp(Rams), D.K. Metcalf(Seahawks), Terry McLaurin(Commanders), Tyler Lockett(Seahawks), & D.J. Moore(Panthers) to compete with, and it’s hard to imagine both Deebo & Aiyuk being selected, but I wouldn’t be one to complain,.

So, with that all said, I expect Aiyuk to hit the playtime tier, which would give him a $13.585 million 5^th-year option, which of course becomes fully guaranteed once exercised, and as for Kinlaw, I expect him to get the basic tier, which would be $9.652 million, again fully guaranteed, but that’s a great number for Kinlaw, especially if he breaks out this season.

So, if we add in both of these numbers, the 49ers projected salary cap room goes to $28,949,379 with 29 players signed, but with the top 51 rule, they’d have $11,460,379, but of course this doesn’t include any 2023 draft picks, or 2024 draft picks, as it’s way too early, and hard to project those.

If we add in projected numbers for the 2023 draft, courtesy of OverTheCap.com, the 49ers would lose an additional $8,202,838, putting them $20,747,541 under a projected $256 million cap, but that’s with 37 players, with 51 players signed, the 49ers would have $9,617,541 in cap room.

If the 49ers are up against the cap in 2024, they have options to create cap room, as they could extend the likes of Charvarius Ward($9.148 million saved), and Arik Armstead($12.96 million saved).

Of course, the 49ers would likely try to lock up Aiyuk, & Kinlaw before 2024 comes along, if both play good to great, plus you have Nick Bosa, who will get a new deal next offseason, and the 49ers should be able to get him to have a cap number in the $14 million range for 2024, with the higher cap hits hitting in 2025, & beyond, which would give the 49ers $6,747,541 with 38 players signed, & $3,587,459 over with 51 players signed, but this doesn’t potential extensions, or restructures.

Now, if for some reason Kinlaw can hit the playtime tier, that would be an extra $1.5 million, meaning their cap room would go down to $5,247,541 with 38 players signed, & $5,087,459 over with 51 players signed.

Now, if the 49ers decide not to pick up Kinlaw’s 5^th-year option, then the 49ers would have $16,309,541 in cap room with 37 players signed, and with 51 players they’d have $5,179,541 in cap room, and this includes a potential Nick Bosa extension, with him having a $14 million cap hit.

The 49ers options for extensions & restructures are below.

Restructures:

RB Christian McCaffrey – $8.472 million max, $5.295 million minimum

WR Deebo Samuel – $15,877,600 max, $9,923,500 minimum

LT Trent Williams – $15.072 million max, $12.56 million minimum

MLB Fred Warner – $11.34 million max, $9.45 million minimum

Extensions:

DT Arik Armstead – $12.96 million

CB Charvarius Ward – $9.148 million

There you have it, another look at 2024, when taking into account Brandon Aiyuk, & Javon Kinlaw’s projected 5^th-year options, along with Dre Greenlaw, & Mitch Wishnowsky’s new deals, and with Christian McCaffrey now included, along with an alternate version without Kinlaw’s 5^th-year option.

As always, thank you for reading, you can follow me on twitter @49erscap for more salary cap information & tidbits.

About Author

Jason Hurley

Die Hard 49ers fan from New York, been covering the 49ers salary cap since 2005, with several different websites, including NinersNation.com, & the now defunct NinerCapHell, I have a track record of being as accurate as possible, I try to be as thorough as possible, and you can find me on X/Twitter @49erscap, & on Blue Sky App @49erscap.bsky.social.

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