When NaVorro Bowman signed his recent contract extension, it did not take long to find out that some veterans had renegotiated their contracts to help get Bowman's deal done. Vernon Davis, Carlos Rogers and Ray McDonald all made changes to their contracts so that the Bowman deal could get done now. The 49ers were close to the cap limit, but they found some room.

We don't know all the details of what the 49ers did, but we have some hints about how it worked. Based on some information our new cap man, Jason Hurley, gleaned from a league source, it looks like Ray McDonald actually extended his contract by a year. The 49ers defensive lineman originally signed a five year contract prior to last season, which would have made him a free agent following the 2015 season. Information now indicates that he has added a year onto that contract, and is now signed through the 2016 season.

Ray McDonald lowered his base salaries for this season ($700,000) and next season ($715,000), and now has a 2016 base salary of $1,000,000. There are a lot of details we do not know, as there is quite a bit in base salary next season that McDonald has foregone. We don't know the kind of bonuses involved, but they are there.

While this is not a huge deal, adding that extra year is certainly a pertinent piece of information. With the help of Jason, we'll have plenty more information whenever this kind of thing arises. In the meantime, remember that Jason Hurley has provided a wealth of salary cap information from Niner Cap Hell in our own databases now. Head over to our 2012 salary cap page to check that out, as well as other future years.