The San Francisco 49ers are apparently closing in on a deal with free agent wide receiver Pierre Garcon. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is reporting many expect a deal to happen, and it could pay Garcon as much as $16 million in the first year. Adam Caplan had reported a half hour earlier that the 49ers were the leading team, but it was not a done deal.
It is important to note that number includes his base salary, various roster bonuses, and his signing bonus. The signing bonus prorates over the life of the deal for cap purposes. That being said, it sounds like he would be looking at a pretty sizable deal in terms of cash paid out. The 49ers do have plenty of cap space, so there would be no concerns about that.
The tampering period ends Thursday at 1 p.m. PT, at which point deals can become official. For the time being, Garcon’s agent is meeting with the 49ers to hammer it out. My guess is an announcement would come shortly after 1 p.m. PT on Thursday.