With this being the slowest part of the offseason, I decided to look back at Trent Williams record setting 6-year deal, worth $138.06 million, with $40.15 million in fully guaranteed money, along with another $5.05 million in injury guarantees, but the contract is very unique, so let’s take a look & break it down.
Williams received a $30.1 million signing bonus, which prorates at $6.02 million from 2021-2025, he also got his 2021 base salary($1.55 million), and his 2022 base salary($7.25 million) fully guaranteed, with $5.05 million of his 2023 base salary being guaranteed for injury, fully on April 1, 2022, similar to how George Kittle had $5.083 million of his 2022 base salary fully guaranteed back on April 1, 2021.
But the interesting part is the deal breaks down to really being 2 3-year deals, because the 49ers must exercise Williams’ 2024-2026 option years by April 1, 2023, and if they do exercise it, Williams’ will see another $10 million of his 2023 base salary fully guaranteed.
So the deal is essentially 2 3-year deals, the first 3 seasons breakdown like this, cap & cash wise.
2021:
Cap Number: $8,187,647
Base Salary: $1.55 million (fully guaranteed)
Prorated Bonus: $6.02 million
Per Game Roster Bonus: $750,000
Cash Earned: $32.4 million
2022:
Cap Number: $14.12 million
Base Salary: $7.25 million (fully guaranteed)
Prorated Bonus: $6.02 million
Per Game Roster Bonus: $750,000
Workout Bonus: $100,000
Cash Earned: $8.1 million
2023:
Cap Number: $26.27 million
Base Salary: $19.4 million ($5.05 million is guaranteed on April 1, 2022, another $10 million if the 49ers exercise his 2024-2026 option years)
Prorated Bonus: $6.02 million
Per Game Roster Bonus: $750,000
Workout Bonus: $100,000
Cash Earned: $20.25 million
So this 3-year deal, works out to be $48.71 million against the cap, which would come out at a bit over $16.236 million a year.
Cash wise, Williams is set to earn a total of $60.75 million, a pretty nice sum for 3-years.
Now let’s look at his 2024-2026 option years.
2024:
Cap Number: $26.92 million
Base Salary: $20.05 million
Prorated Bonus: $6.02 million
Per Game Roster Bonus: $750,000
Workout Bonus: $100,000
Cash Earned: $20.9 million
2025:
Cap Number: $29.37 million
Base Salary: $22.5 million
Prorated Bonus: $6.02 million
Per Game Roster Bonus: $750,000
Workout Bonus: $100,000
Cash Earned: $23.35 million
2026:
Cap Number: $33.06 million
Base Salary: $32.1 million
Per Game Roster Bonus: $750,000
Workout Bonus: $100,000
Cash Earned: $33.06 million
This 3-year deal, is essentially worth $89.35 million, which comes out to a bit over $29.783 million a year.
Cash wise, Williams would earn $77.31 million over the 2024-2026 option years.
If the 49ers decide to decline Williams’ option years, they’d be on the hook for $12.04 million in dead money for 2024, plus since the deal has option years, he wouldn’t count as a compensatory free agent, meaning the 49ers wouldn’t get a pick if he signed elsewhere.
So what’s the odds that Williams’ sees all of the $138.06 million? Well if he plays at the same level that he did in 2020, I’d say it’s very high, by the time his cap numbers getting really big, the cap will have gone up thanks to the revenue from the new NFL TV deals, which begin in 2023, so the 49ers can easily afford Williams’ at his cap numbers.
The one thing is, which year does the cap actually explode, going up to nearly $260 million, some think 2023, others think 2024, if it’s not 2023, the 2023 cap would most likely be around $225 million to $230 million, then in 2024 the cap would hit that $260 million ceiling, and the cap should go up by $15 million a year, or more, depending on how much revenue the NFL gets from those TV deals, plus filling stadiums to full capacity.
So in 2025, the salary cap could be around $275 million, with 2026’s salary cap coming in at somewhere around $290 million and by 2027, the salary cap should be well over $300 million.
Now, would a 36-year old left tackle be worth a $26.92 million cap number in 2024? Well, only time will tell, if he keeps playing the way he did in 2020, I’d say he’s worth every penny, as I said when he signed the 6-year deal in March.
So with all of this said, I thank everyone for reading article, as always you can follow me on Twitter @49erscap, or leave a comment below, and I’ll get back to you.
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