Yesterday we saw Trey Lance go down with a fractured ankle, requiring season ending surgery, which means the team is now in the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo once again, so let’s go over Lance’s injury, & Garoppolo being the starting quarterback means for the 49ers salary cap going forward.
Now that Garoppolo is the starting quarterback, he’s most definitely likely to earn at least most of the $5.65 million that are counting against the cap, which isn’t going to help the 49ers 2023 salary cap situation but having Garoppolo still on the roster will at least make this team a playoff contender, even a Super Bowl contender.
Garoppolo’s 1-year restructured deal has a max value of $15.45 million, with $12.65 million of it counting against the 2022 salary cap, so he can still earn $2.8 million if the Garoppolo helps lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl & plays the required snaps.
If Garoppolo does earn the extra $2.8 million, which isn’t likely, as the team would have to win every game left on the schedule, the 49ers would theoretically lose $2.8 million in cap room next year.
But that won’t happen, as the 49ers will be getting back some good amount of credits, somewhere in the $3.361 million range, which comes from base salary guarantees handed out in the offseason, plus $88,235 from Jimmie Ward’s per game roster bonus, with the amounts that they should get back, if everything stays status quo, below.
QB Nate Sudfeld- $1.035 million
WR Malik Turner- $300,000
WR Marcus Johnson- $250,000
WR Tay Martin- $45,000
RG Jason Poe- $65,000
DE Kemoko Turay- $865,178
SLB Marcelino McCrary-Ball- $100,000
CB Dontae Johnson- $358,200
CB Qwuantrezz Knight- $25,000
FS Tayler Hawkins- $50,000
Now what this means for 2023 isn’t clear, yet, as the 49ers extended both weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, & punter Mitch Wishnowsky this past weekend, and those terms aren’t known at the moment, but the 49ers should have enough to either retain players they want, or replace them in free agency, plus they have a good amount of draft picks in 2023.
So, in conclusion, even though Garoppolo will likely earn those $5.65 million incentives, & possibly more, it’s not all bad news, the team still has an elite defense, elite weapons, a good offensive line, & a good coaching staff, meaning they can make a deep playoff run, maybe even get their 6th Lombardi trophy.
As always, thank you for reading, you can follow me on twitter @49erscap for more salary cap information & tidbits.
About Author
