Another deep look at the 49ers 2023 salary cap situation

Recently I went over the 49ers 2022 & 2023 salary cap situation, but now that we know Ray-Ray McCloud’s 2023 salary cap number, we can take a deeper look into the 49ers 2023 salary cap situation, along with projections, both contracts, & draft picks.

The 49ers have 21 players signed for 2023, the 49ers have a cap commitment of $150,131,200 for the 21 players’ cap numbers we know, plus $14,939,999 in dead money, for a total cap commitment of $165,071,199, leaving the 49ers $59,928,801 under the 2023 projected salary cap of $225 million, but that’s with just 21 players signed, when you factor in enough players to get to 51, they’d have $37,428,801 in cap room.

Now, let’s take a look at the 21 players salary cap numbers for the 2023 season.

1. QB Trey Lance(2024)- $9,301,434
2. RB Trey Sermon(2024)- $1,328,982
3. RB Elijah Mitchell(2024)- $985,893
4. FB Kyle Juszcyzk(2025)- $6,588,750
5. WR Brandon Aiyuk(2023)- $3,987,248
6. WR/KR/PR Ray-Ray McCloud(2023)- $2,090,000
7. TE George Kittle(2025)- $18,383,000
8. TE Charlie Woerner(2023)- $1,055,258
9. C Alex Mack(2023)- $5,075,000
10. LG Aaron Banks(2024)- $1,911,166
11. LT Trtent Williams(2026)- $26,270,000
12. LT Jaylon Moore(2024)- $1,020,759
13. DT Arik Armstead(2024)- $24,346,000
14. DT Javon Kinlaw(2023)- $4,928,223
15. MLB Fred Warner(2026)- $18,525,000
16. MLB Oren Burks(2023)- $2,773,000
17. CB Charvarius Ward(2024)- $16,405,000
18. CB Ambry Thomas(2024)- $1,305,232
19. CB Deommodore Lenoir(2024)- $1,011,217
20. SS George Odum(2024)- $1,840,000
21. SS Talanoa Hufanga(2024)- $1,000,038

Currently the 49ers have 9 draft picks for the 2022 draft, with those being, a 2^nd-rounder(#61^st-overall), 2 3^rd-rounders(#93^rd-overall, & #105^th-overall, comp pick for losing Mike McDaniel), a 4^th-rounder(#134^th-overall), a 5^th-rounder(#172^nd-overall), 3 6^th-rounders(#187^th-overall, #220^th-overall, & #221^st-overall, comp picks for losing Solomon Thomas & Kerry Hyder Jr.), and a 7^th-rounder(#262^nd-overall, comp pick for losing C.J. Beathard), with these picks set to count $9,428,256 in 2023.

If we add those 9 picks to the 49ers 2023 cap commitment, they’d have $159,613,332 in cap commitment for 30 players, the aforementioned $14,939,999 in dead money, for a total cap commitment of $174,533,331, leaving the team, on a projected 2023 cap of $225 million, with $50,446,669 in 2023 cap room, but that’s with 30 players, so when we add enough for the top 51 rule, they’d have $34,696,669 in cap room.

Of course, these numbers don’t include pending extensions for wide receiver Deebo Samuel, & defensive end Nick Bosa, with those deals looking like they’ll come in at around $25 million for Deebo, & $32 million for Bosa.

If we add in a $10 million cap hit for Deebo, & a $16 million cap hit for Bosa, that would give the 49ers a cap commitment of for 32 players, plus the $14,939,999 in dead money, a total of $200,533,331 in cap commitment, leaving them with $24,446,669 on a $225 million cap, but that’s with 32 players signed, when we add in enough for the top 51, they’d have $9,446,669.

Now, yes that $9.446 million isn’t a lot, but these are projections, I can see Deebo, & Bosa’s 2023 cap numbers coming in lower, say $8 million for Deebo, & $14 million for Bosa, which would give the team $28,446,669 with 32 players, and $13,446,669 with 51 players.

Also, I’m willing to bet that center Alex Mack will retire in 2023, which, after the top 51 rule, saves the team $3.1 million, putting those numbers at $31,546,669, with 31 players, & $16,546,669 with 51 players.

Of course, the 49ers have some players that will most definitely be here in 2023 that are either RFAs or ERFAs, those being wide receiver Jauan Jennings, left guard Colton McKivitz, & defensive tackle Kevin Givens, with Jennings tender being for $940,000, McKivitz’s for $2.736 million, & Givens’ for $2.629 million, putting their cap commitment to $191,918,332, with Mack, or $182,843,332 without Mack, plus the $14,939,999 in dead money with Mack, giving them a cap commitment of $208,608,331 with Mack, $16,689,999 in dead money without Mack, $199,533,331 without Mack, giving them $18,141,669 with Mack, $25,466,669 without Mack, but that’s without enough players for the top 51, with those being $5,391,669 with Mack, & $13,466,669 without Mack.

But those numbers include Deebo at $10 million, & Bosa at $16 million, but with Deebo a $8 million, & Bosa at $14 million, their cap commitment would be $202,858,331 with Mack, or $199,533,331 without Mack, giving them $22,141,669 with Mack, or $35,466,669 without Mack, but that’s with just the 34 players, so adding in enough for top 51, it’d be $9,391,669 with Mack, or $13,466,669 without Mack.

The 49ers have the following pending free agents.

UFA:

QB Nate Sudfeld
RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
TE Tanner Hudson
TE Jordan Matthews
C Jake Brendel
RG Daniel Brunskill
RT Mike McGlinchey
RT Justin Skule
DE Samson Ebukam
DE Jordan Willis
DE Kerry Hyder Jr.
DT Mauirce Hurst Jr.
NT Hassan Ridgeway
WLB Dre Greenlaw
SLB Azeez Al-Shaair
CB Emmanuel Moseley
CB Dontae Johnson
CB Darqueze Dennard
FS Jimmie Ward
FS Tarvarius Moore
PK Robbie Gould
P Mitch Wishnowsky
LS Taybor Pepper

RFA:

RB JaMycal Hasty
WR KeeSean Johnson
LG Colton McKivitz
RG Keaton Sutherland
DT Kevin Givens
SLB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
CB Ka’dar Hollman

ERFA:

FB Josh Hokit
WR Jauan Jennings
WR Austin Mack
WR Connor Wedington
RT Alfredo Gutierrez
DE Alex Barrett
NT Chris Slayton
WLB Curtis Robinson

Now, of the 49ers pending UFAs, there a few who seem like guys the 49ers would consider extending, or re-signing, those being, defensive end Samson Ebukam, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, & free safety Jimmie Ward, who counts $6.395 million already in 2023, so by extending him now, not only would the 49ers save $6.224 million for 2022, but they could also get his 2023 cap number in that $6.395 million to $8 million range, only using up less than $2 million in cap room.

The team will likely want weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and/or strongside linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair back, but they could decide to choose between the two, and if they extend Al-Shaair, who’s a RFA right now, to a multi-year deal, that might mean Greenlaw’s chances of returning in 2023 being 50/50 at best.

The team is going to also need to decide on right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who is set to make a fully guaranteed $10.88 million, and if he plays well, the 49ers will have to decide whether to extend him, or not, as he could potentially play so well, that he’s no longer affordable, plus I’m not sure if the 49ers want to pay two Tackle big money.

The 49ers might have a completely new special teams trio in 2023, as placekicker Robbie Gould, punter Mitch Wishnowsky, & long snapper Taybor Pepper are all scheduled to be UFAs, and I’d have to think Gould might retire, and the 49ers may want to go younger.

If players like running back Jeff Wilson Jr., right guard Daniel Brunskill, defensive ends Jordan Willis, & Kerry Hyder Jr., nose tackle Hassan Ridgeway, & free safety Tarvraius Moore play well, they could be back on either low money 1-year deals, or lower-ish money on multi-year deals.

As for the 2023 draft, the 49ers will have the following picks, their 2^nd-rounder, their 3^rd-rounder, 2 compensatory 3^rd-rounders for losing Robert Saleh/Martin Mayhew, & Mike McDaniel in the last 2 offseasons, their 4^th-rounder, their 5^th-rounder, their 7^th-rounder, & Denver’s 7^th-rounder, plus they are, as of writing of this article, projected by OverTheCap.com, to get a 5^th-round comp pick for losing D.J. Jones, and 2 7^th-round comp picks for losing Raheem Mostert, & K’Waun Williams, so they’ll have a lot of draft capital to use both this offseason & next offseason.

So, as I’ve been saying for months, the 49ers will be able to extend not just Nick Bosa, & Deebo Samuel this offseason, but also Brandon Aiyuk next offseason, while having the likes of George Kittle, Trent Williams, Arik Armstead, Fred Warner, & Charvarius Ward signed to big money deals.

Finally, when it comes to Jimmy Garoppolo, I do believe he’ll be elsewhere by the time the season begins, as it’s Trey Lance’s time to start at quarterback, which could save as much as $25.55 million, which the 49ers could carry most of it over into 2023.

And with that said, I thank you for reading, as always, leave a comment, or follow me on Twitter @49erscap.

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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