With week 16 behind us, and week 17 a day away, I think it’s time to take another deep look into the 49ers current 2023 salary cap situation as it stands today.
Right now, they have 77 players signed, with $165,461,909 in committed salaries, plus $34,673,993 in dead money, for a total of $200,135,901 in total committed salaries, putting the team $37,384,367 under their 2023 adjusted cap of $237,520,268, giving them the most salary cap room in the NFL.
Now, below are the 77 players signed, with their 2023 salary cap number.
53-Man Roster:
- QB 13 Brock Purdy(2025)- $889,253
- QB 14 Sam Darnold(2023)- $6,241,176
- QB 17 Brandon Allen(2023)- $1,092,500
- RB 23 Christian McCaffrey(2025)- $3,424,000
- RB 25 Elijah Mitchell(2024)- $985,893
- RB 24 Jordan Mason(2024)- $873,333
- FB 44 Kyle Juszczyk(2025)- $6,565,221
- WR 19 Deebo Samuel(2025)- $8,697,647
- WR 11 Brandon Aiyuk(2023)- $3,987,248
- WR 15 Jauan Jennings(2023)- $940,000
- WR 10 Ronnie Bell(2026)- $770,482
- WR 84 Chris Conley(2023)- $261,111
- TE 85 George Kittle(2025)- $9,507,163
- TE 89 Charlie Woerner(2023)- $1,055,258
- TE 82 Ross Dwelley(2023)- $1,080,000
- TE 9 Brayden Willis(2026)- $771,039
- C 64 Jake Brendel(2026)- $2,272,000
- C 55 Jon Feliciano(2023)- $3,250,000
- LG 65 Aaron Banks(2024)- $1,929,166
- LG 78 Ben Bartch(2023)- $365,556
- RG 74 Spencer Burford(2025)- $1,038,014
- LT 71 Trent Williams(2026)- $12,539,424
- LT 76 Jaylon Moore(2024)- $1,020,759
- RT 68 Colton McKivitz(2024)- $1,568,353
- RT 75 Matt Pryor(2023)- $104,444
- DE 97 Nick Bosa(2023)- $11,080,000
- DE 5 Randy Gregory(2023)- $840,000
- DE 92 Chase Young(2023)- $561,111
- DE 94 Clelin Ferrell(2023)- $2,440,000
- DE 51 Robert Beal Jr.(2026)- $611,245
- DT 91 Arik Armstead(2024)- $12,108,236
- DT 90 Kevin Givens(2023)- $2,000,000
- DT/NT 99 Javon Kinlaw(2023)- $4,928,223
- DT/NT 69 Sebastian Joseph-Day(2023)- $400,000
- NT/DT 98 Javon Hargrave(2026)- $6,595,000
- SLB 48 Oren Burks(2023)- $2,773,000
- SLB 53 Dee Winters(2026)- $785,110
- WLB 57 Dre Greenlaw(2024)- $5,648,558
- WLB 45 Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles(2023)- $1,825,000
- MLB 54 Fred Warner(2026)- $9,049,000
- MLB 50 Jalen Graham(2026)- $770,482
- CB 7 Charvarius Ward(2024)- $6,421,000
- CB 20 Ambry Thomas(2024)- $1,305,232
- CB 2 Deommodore Lenoir(2024)- $1,011,217
- CB 26 Isaiah Oliver(2024)- $1,766,000
- CB 28 Darrell Luter Jr.(2026)- $661,711
- CB 0 Samuel Womack III(2025)- $721,387
- FS 31 Tashaun Gipson Sr.(2023)- $2,100,000
- FS 27 Ji’Ayir Brown(2026)- $993,368
- FS 33 Logan Ryan(2023)- $261,111
- PK 4 Jake Moody(2026)- $975,805
- P 18 Mitch Wishnowsky(2026)- $1,700,000
- LS 46 Taybor Pepper(2025)- $1,225,000
Injured Reserve:
- WR 6 Danny Gray(2025)- $1,146,569
- WR/KR/PR 3 Ray-Ray McCloud III(2023)- $2,090,000
- TE 81 Cameron Latu(2026)- $664,378
- LG 63 Nick Zakelj(2025)- $742,034
- DE 95 Drake Jackson(2025)- $1,339,180
- NT 93 Kalia Davis(2025)- $733,003
- SS 29 Talanoa Hufanga(2024)- $1,000,038
- SS 30 George Odum(2024)- $2,340,000
Practice Squad:
- RB 32 Tyrion Davis-Price(2023)- $60,000
- WR 83 Willie Snead IV*(2023)- $41,200
- WR 86 Tay Martin(2023)- $245,667
- TE 88 Jake Tonges(2023)- $180,000
- C 61 Corey Luciano(2023)- $275,333
- LG 66 Jesse Davis*(2023)- $237,622
- LT — Sebastian Gutierrez(2023)- $24,000
- RT 77 Alfredo Gutierrez**(2023)- $0
- DE 58 Alex Barrett(2023)- $216,000
- DT/NT 96 T.Y. McGill Jr.*(2023)- $434,044
- DT/DE 69 Spencer Waege(2023)- $96,000
- WLB 59 Curtis Robinson(2023)- $336,667
- CB 22 Jason Verrett*(2023)- $114,022
- CB – Kemon Hall(2023)- $72,000
- FS 41 Tayler Hawkins(2023)- $132,000
- SS 35 Erik Harris*(2023)- $204,967
Now, let’s look at what the team needs in cap room for potential per game roster bonus paybacks.
QB Sam Darnold – $58,824
FB Kyle Juszcyzk – $23,529
WR Deebo Samuel – $44,118
TE George Kittle – $29,412
LT Trent Williams – $44,118
RT Colton McKivitz – $17,647
DE Clelin Ferrell – $40,000
DT Arik Armstead – $44,118
WLB Dre Greenlaw – $29,412
CB Isaiah Oliver – $20,000
That’s a total of $351,176 needed this season to potentially payback 10 players.
Now let’s look at what players have LTBE incentives for 2023.
Now the 49ers have LTBEs as I stated, with them below.
Now let’s look at what players have LTBE incentives for 2023.
QB Sam Darnold – $1.8 million, $1.2 million of it is due to Darnold playing 25% of the Panthers offensive snaps, plus winning those games and as of now, the 49ers will get back $1.5 million of the $1.8 million
WR Deebo Samuel – $150,000, this is for Deebo rushing for 3 or more touchdowns, which he has 5 rush TDs, meaning he’ll have $150,000 in LTBE incentives counting in 2024.
C Jon Feliciano – $1,000,000, which starts at 60% playtime, but he hasn’t played enough to earn any of the $1 million, meaning they should get the $1 million back in 2024.
SS George Odum – $250,000, this is for Odum being named 2nd-team All-Pro last season, and with Odum’s season over, the 49ers should get back the $250,000.
P Mitch Wishnowsky – $100,000, this is for punt percentage for inside the 20-yard line, but since the 49ers haven’t punted enough, he likely won’t achieve this incentive, so the 49ers will get back the $100,000.
Next, let’s look at what players have incentives that are considered NLTBE, and what the player can earn in total.
QB Sam Darnold
He gets $300,000 for each game he plays 25% of the 49ers offensive snaps, and the 49ers win that game, a total of $5.1 million
He gets $1 million for playing 50% of the regular season offensive snaps, and the 49ers make the playoffs
He gets $100,000 for each playoff game he plays 50% of the offensive snaps, a total of $400,000.
All in all, he can earn $6.5 million in incentives, with $1.8 million counting against the 2023 salary cap.
WR Deebo Samuel
He can get $650,000 for 380 or more rushing yards
He can also get $150,000 for 3 or more rushing touchdowns.
In total he can earn a max of $650,000 in incentives, with $150,000 currently counting against the 2023 salary cap.
WR Ray-Ray McCloud III
He can earn $500,000 for 46% or more offensive playtime, 40 or more catches, 400 or more receiving yards, and 200 or more rushing yards.
He can also earn $200,000 for being selected to the Pro Bowl.
All in all, he can earn $700,000 in incentives.
C Jake Brendel
He can earn $500,000 for an undisclosed percentage of offensive playtime.
RT Colton McKivitz
He can earn $135,000 for undisclosed percentage of offensive playtime, which he should earn if he keeps playing.
He also has a $485,000 base salary escalator that he should hit, adding to 2024’s cap number, which I’ve already included both the $135,000 playtime, and the escalator into my 2024 numbers.
DE Clelin Ferrell
He can get $250,000 for hitting 50% to 79.9% in defensive snaps.
He can get an additional $250,000 if he hits 80% or more in defensive snaps.
If he gets 5-6.5 sacks, m he gets $100,000, he’ll get $150,000 for 7-10.5 sacks, and a $250,000 for 11 or more sacks, a total of $500,000.
He can also earn $500,000 for making the First Team All-Pro team.
In total, he has $1.5 million in incentives.
DT Kevin Givens
He can earn $100,000 for an undisclosed percentage of defensive playtime.
WLB Dre Greenlaw
He can earn $500,000 if he’s named to the Pro Bowl.
SLB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
He can earn $500,000 for an undisclosed percentage of defensive playtime.
CB Charvarius Ward
He can earn $250,000 for being named to the Pro Bowl.
He can also earn another $250,000 if he’s named 1st or 2nd team All-Pro.
All in all, he can earn $500,000 in incentives.
FS Tashaun Gipson Sr.
He can earn $300,000 for a combination of stats, & being named to the Pro Bowl, and right now he should earn $100,000 for playtime & stats.
SS George Odum
He has an undisclosed amount for various triggers, but we do know that $250,000 counts against the 2023 salary cap for him being named to the 2nd Team All-Pro last season.
P Mitch Wishnowsky
He can earn $450,000 for various different triggers, with $100,000 of it counting against the 2023 salary cap.
Next, let’s look at what kind of adjustments/credits the 49ers can get back in 2024.
First off, the 49ers are projected to be $38,731,217 over the 2024 salary cap, which is projected to be $256 million, but that’s with just 41 players signed, so when they have enough players signed to get to the top 51 rule, they’d be $46,681,217 over.
Before I go over what the 49ers can get back in 2024, let’s look at the 41 players signed for 2024, with their cap number.
- LT 71 Trent Williams(2026)- $31,568,542
- WR 19 Deebo Samuel(2025)- $28,633,765
- DT 91 Arik Armstead(2024)- $28,397,353
- MLB 54 Fred Warner(2026)- $24,469,000
- TE 85 George Kittle(2025)- $21,986,575
- CB 7 Charvarius Ward(2024)- $18,151,000
- NT 98 Javon Hargrave(2026)- $15,430,882
- DE 97 Nick Bosa(2028)- $14,671,000
- RB 23 Christian McCaffrey(2025)- $14,144,000
- WR 11 Brandon Aiyuk(2024)- $14,124,000
- WLB 57 Dre Greenlaw(2024)- $9,602,970
- FB 44 Kyle Juszczyk(2025)- $7,588,750
- C 64 Jake Brendel(2026)- $4,692,000
- CB 26 Isaiah Oliver(2024)- $3,866,000
- RT 68 Colton McKivitz(2024)- $3,156,000
- P 18 Mitch Wishnowsky(2026)- $2,925,000
- LG 65 Aaron Banks(2024)- $2,250,694
- SS 30 George Odum(2024)- $1,625,000
- DE 95 Drake Jackson(2025)- $1,590,561
- CB 20 Ambry Thomas(2024)- $1,425,154
- WR 6 Danny Gray(2025)- $1,375,883
- LS 46 Taybor Pepper(2025)- $1,300,000
- FS 27 Ji’Ayir Brown(2026)- $1,243,108
- PK 4 Jake Moody(2026)- $1,219,756
- TE 81 Cameron Latu(2026)- $1,219,756
- RG 74 Spencer Burford(2025)- $1,153,014
- RT 76 Jaylon Moore(2024)- $1,135,759
- CB 2 Deommodore Lenoir(2024)- $1,126,217
- SS 29 Talanoa Hufanga(2024)- $1,115,038
- RB 25 Elijah Mitchell(2024)- $1,100,893
- CB 0 Samuel Womack III(2025)- $1,055,831
- LG 63 Nick Zakelj(2025)- $1,032,590
- NT 93 Kalia Davis(2025)- $1,018,003
- QB 13 Brock Purdy(2025)- $1,004,253
- CB 28 Darrell Luter Jr.(2026)- $997,555
- RB 24 Jordan Mason(2024)- $988,334
- DE 51 Robert Beal Jr.(2026)- $979,510
- SLB 53 Dee Winters(2026)- $950,110
- TE 9 Brayden Willis(2026)- $936,039
- WR 10 Ronnie Bell(2026)- $935,482
- MLB 50 Jalen Graham(2026)- $935,482
Now, let’s look at what the 49ers can get back in 2024.
First up are the veterans.
WR Chris Conley – The 49ers should get back all of the $400,000 that they gave out to Conley, but thus far they’ll for sure get back the $400,000 now that he’s been signed to the 53-man roster.
WR Willie Snead IV – $250,000, The team, as long as Snead remains on the practice squad, will get back the $250,000, as his salary is $370,800, & they’ll for sure get back the $250,000.
DE Austin Bryant – $550,000 was given to Bryant, & now he’s with the Vikings practuice squad, and as of now, the 49ers will get back at least $329,722.
DT T.Y. McGill Jr. – $370,800 out of $400,000, and McGill has earned enough that the 49ers will get back the full $400,000.
SLB Marcelino McCrary-Ball – $100,000, as he’s on the Jets practice squad, as of now the 49ers will get back for sure the $100,000
Next are UDFAs that were given guarantees in their base salaries.
FB Jack Colletto – $100,000, as of now Colletto has earned $216,000.
C Corey Luciano – $5,000, as of now Luciano has earned $275,333, but they’ll only get back $5,000 of it.
G Joey Fisher – $115,000, as of now Fisher has earned $120,000.
DT Spencer Waege – $40,000, as of now Waege has earned $96,000.
Luciano & Waege are on the 49ers practice squad, while Fisher & Colletto are on the Steelers practice squad, so they would get back $260,000.
They also gave out the following to players not on their, or another teams’ practice squad.
RB Ronald Awatt – $5,000
RB Khalan Laborn – $30,000
WR Shae Wyatt – $35,000
MLB Mariano Sori-Marin – $30,000
FS Avery Young – $10,000
That’s a total of $110,000, but right now they wouldn’t get back any of it since none are signed to a practice squad.
The team will also get back $8,971 for each game that Brandon Allen is the emergency 3rd QB, as he has a $152,500 per game roster bonus, but the emergency 3rd QB doesn’t get credit for a per game roster bonus game check, so far they’d get back $143,529, which is 16 games worth of his per game roster bonus.
Plus they’ll get back $14,118 from Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles’ $240,000 per game roster bonus, which is 1 games worth, $39,706 from Ray-Ray McCloud III’s $135,000 per game roster bonus, & $44,118 from Javon Hargrave’s $750,000 per game roster bonus.
When it comes to incentives, so far, Deebo Samuel has 5 rush touchdowns, while Sam Darnold, & Jon Feliciano haven’t played enough offensive snaps to achieve their incentives, while George Odum is out for the season, and likely won’t be named as an All-Pro, meaning the 49ers would get back the $250,000, & Mitch Wishnowsky’s won’t be known until the end of the season.
Of the NLTBEs, Jake Brendel should hit his $500,000, Tashaun Gipson Sr. should get $100,000, Colton McKivitz $135,000, & Mitch Wishnowsky $100,000.
And with Charvarius Ward named to the 2024 Pro Bowl, he’s officially earned $250,000, and he can earn another $250,000 if named an All-Pro.
So, as of now, the 49ers would get back $3,855,016.
I also need to mention that the 49ers have 3 players that could/will see base salary increases, Aaron Banks, Deommodore Lenoir, and Talanoa Hufanga, with Hufanga already guaranteed to see his base salary escalate to the 2nd-round RFA tender level, which would be $4.304 million.
Now, for Banks, & Lenoir, they would likely see their base salaries escalate to the original round tender level, which is projected to be $2.953 million, so all in all, that’s an extra $6,854,416 added to team commitments, putting them $45,585,633 over with 41 players signed, and $53,535,633 over with 51 players signed, so the team will need to create cap room next year with the options to create cap room listed below.
RB Christian McCaffrey – $8,472,000 (Restructure)
WR Deebo Samuel – $15,877,600 (Restructure)
TE George Kittle – $9,752,000 (Restructure)
LT Trent Williams – $15,072,000 (Restructure)
DT Arik Armstead – $12,960,000 (Extension or Restructure)
MLB Fred Warner – $11,340,000 (Restructure)
WLB Dre Greenlaw – $5,580,000 (Extension or Restructure)
CB Charvarius Ward – $9,148,000 (Extension or Restructure)
Now, let’s look at the teams’ pending free agents.
UFA:
QB Sam Darnold
QB Brandon Allen
WR/KR/PR Ray-Ray McCloud III
WR Chris Conley
TE Ross Dwelley
TE Charlie Woerner
C Jon Feliciano
LG Ben Bartch
RT Matt Pryor
DE Chase Young
DE Clelin Ferrell
DE Randy Gregory
DT Javon Kinlaw
DT Kevin Givens
WLB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
SLB Oren Burks
FS Tashaun Gipson Sr.
FS Logan Ryan
RFA:
WR Jauan Jennings
Now, if the salary cap does come in at $242 million, the RFA tenders would look something like this, courtesy/credit to OverTheCap.com.
1st-Round Tender: $6.464 million
2nd-Round Tender: $4.633 million
Original Round Tender: $2.953 million
Right of First Refusal Tender: $2.828 million
The team has 1 RFA, Jauan Jennings, who will most likely get the 2nd-round tender, keeping him a 49er for 1 more year after 2023, before he becomes a UFA in 2025, where he’ll get paid a good amount by another team.
The team currently has $37,384,367 in cap room for 2023, and I project that they’d get $3,855,106 in adjustments/credits from veteran base salary guarantees, UDFA guarantees, per game roster base salaries not achieved, and LTBE incentives not achieved.
Now, if for some reason the 49ers can indeed carryover the $37.384 million, which is unlikely, as in season roster moves will be made, & injuries will happen, plus projected adjustments, the team would $2,508,165 under with 41 players signed, or $5,441,835 over with 51 players signed, but when factoring in the escalators for Banks, Lenoir, & Hufanga, they’d be $4,346,251 over with 41 players signed, or $12,296,251 over with 51 players signed.
Now, if the 49ers are indeed over the 2024 salary cap, even with carryover, & adjustments, I’d expect the team to restructure Deebo Samuel’s contract, saving $15,877,600, and look to extend Arik Armstead, Dre Greenlaw, & Charvarius Ward, which could save the team $27.668 million total, which, with Samuel’s restructure, would be over $43 million in cap savings, so the 2024 49ers will have a good amount of salary cap room, while also being able to extend the likes of Brandon Aiyuk, Talanoa Hufanga, Aaron Banks, & Deommodore Lenoir, and keep the teams current core players on big money deals.
I do believe the 49ers can retain Chase Young, but it requires them to indeed redo Deebo Samuel’s deal, but it also may cost the 49ers a player or 2.
And that’s the 2023 & 2024 salary cap situations as of today, as always, thank you for reading, you can follow me on X/Twitter @49erscap for more salary cap information & tidbits.
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