With the 49ers set to report to Santa Clara for training camp in just under 1 week, I think today is a good day to take a look at what salary cap room the 49ers will need for 2021 due to per game roster bonus paybacks, and also potential 2022 salary cap room they could lose due to incentives.
Let’s first start with the per game roster bonus paybacks, as, with every year, players who have per game roster bonuses, only a certain amount counts against the cap, which depends on how many games the player was active for, but for 2021, each player will have at most 16 games counting, due to the fact that the 2021 season now has 17 games, so let’s start.
QB Jimmy Garoppolo – $282,353 of $800,000 counts against the cap, $517,647 doesn’t count against the cap.
RB Raheem Mostert – $117,647 of $250,000 counts against the cap, $132,353 doesn’t count against the cap.
FB Kyle Juszyzck – $376,471 of $400,000 counts against the cap, $23,529 doesn’t count against the cap.
TE George Kittle – $47,059 of $100,000 counts against the cap, $52,941 doesn’t count against the cap.
TE Ross Dwelley – $188,235 of $200,000 counts against the cap, $11,765 doesn’t count against the cap.
C Alex Mack – $329,412 of $400,000 counts against the cap, $70,588 doesn’t count against the cap.
LG Laken Tomlinson – $376,471 of $400,000 counts against the cap, $23,529 doesn’t count against the cap.
LT Trent Williams – $617,647 of $750,000 counts against the cap, $132,353 doesn’t count against the cap.
DE Arik Armstead – $705,882 of $750,000 counts against the cap, $44,118 doesn’t count against the cap.
DE Samson Ebukam – $470,588 of $500,000 counts against the cap, $29,412 doesn’t count against the cap.
NT D.J. Jones – $205,882 of $250,000 counts against the cap, $44,118 doesn’t count against the cap.
NT Zach Kerr – $66,912 of $87,500 counts against the cap, $20,588 doesn’t count against the cap.
CB Jason Verrett – $764,706 of $1,000,000 counts against the cap, $235,294 doesn’t count against the cap.
FS Jimmie Ward – $411,765 of $500,000 counts against the cap, $88,235 doesn’t count against the cap.
SS Marcell Harris – $94,118 of $100,000 counts, $5,882 doesn’t count against the cap.
A total of $5,055,147 of $6,487,500 counts against the cap, which means a total of $1,432,353 doesn’t count against the cap, meaning the team will need that amount, as long as all of these 15 players make the roster, to payback these players throughout the season.
Now, as I’ve said over & over, the 49ers will have, before a Fred Warner extension, which should get done before the month is over, but after signing their practice squad, they’ll have between $4.5 million to $5 million in salary cap room, which means 1. The 49ers will need to set aside $1,432,353 in cap room for these 15 players, and 2. They’ll need to restructure at least 1 players contract, and maybe 2 of them, with Arik Armstead($4.528 million saved), & Laken Tomlinson($2.808 million saved) as the two most logical choices.
First off, when Dee Ford restructured his deal back in March, he was reportedly given $10 million in incentives, which was reported as $5 million in 2021 & 2022, but I’ve been told by a source that he actually has $5.5 million in only 2022 for playtime, sacks, & pro bowl, with another $4 million in roster bonus escalators, tied to 2021 playtime, & sacks, since he is due a $4.6 million roster bonus, within the first 5 days of the waiver period, which begins the day after the super bowl.
Now, let’s take a look at incentives that don’t count against the cap, which if earned, would come out of the 49ers 2022 cap room.
QB Nate Sudfeld – $137,500
RB Jeff Wilson Jr. – $1.55 million
LG Laken Tomlinson – $500,000 for play time, $100,000 for making the pro bowl
DE Samson Ebukam – $750,000 for sacks, & pro bowl
DE Jordan Willis – $137,500
CB Jason Verrett – $1 million for playtime, interceptions, & pro bowl.
SS Tavon Wilson – $87,500 for playtime
That’s a total of $4,262,500, but the likelihood of all of these players hitting these NTLBE Incentives are very slim, as guys like Sudfeld, & Wilson aren’t locks to make the 53, Willis is suspended for the first 6 games, & Wilson will be out until November due to a torn meniscus.
The most likely one to be hit is Laken Tomlinson’s $500,000 playtime incentive, while the pro bowl incentive isn’t likely.
I do believe Ebukam & Verrett have a good shot at hitting some of their incentives, unfortunately I don’t know the thresholds for them, I’d say it’s doubtful that Ebukam makes the pro bowl, while Verrett’s chances at the pro bowl is probably low, unless he leads the league in interceptions.
Now, if Dee Ford does play in 2021, while hitting any of his roster bonus escalator requirements, again I don’t know the thresholds, his $4.6 million roster bonus could go up by as much as $4 million, as for the $5.5 million in incentives for 2022, it’s possible if he were to have a great season, some, or all of the $5.5 million could end up going from NLTBEs to LTBEs.
I also have to mention that two other players have base salary escalators for 2022, Alex Mack has a $250,000 escalator for making the 2021 pro bowl, and Emmanuel Moseley has a $750,000 escalator for playtime, again I don’t know the threshold.
And finally, Raheem Mostert has or had incentives in his contract, but they redid his deal last year, the report was that they added more incentives, in addition to the $250,000 signing bonus that the 49ers gave Mostert, but the previous amount was worth up to $1 million for rushing yards & playtime, with it broken down like this below.
$75,000 for 550-649 rushing yards
$125,000 for 650-749 rushing yards
$250,000 for 750-849 rushing yards
$500,000 for 850 or more rushing yards
$75,000 for 50% playtime
$125,000 for 60% playtime
$250,000 for 70% playtime
$500,000 for 80% or more playtime
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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