The San Francisco 49ers will formally announce their first free agent signings at or shortly after 1 p.m. PT, but in the meantime, details have emerged. Pierre Garcon’s contract is the latest.
On Wednesday, reports had him set to earn as much as $16 million in the first year. Now, Mike Garafolo is reporting the deal is for three years, will include a $12 million signing bonus, and could pay as much as $23 million over the first two years.
Based on all that we have heard, that would suggest he will have a chance to earn $4 million in salary, bonuses, and incentives in the first year. This would also mean he could be looking at salary, bonuses, and incentives of $7 million in the second season. This is speculation for the time being, but that would seem to suggest cap hits of around $8 million in 2017 and $11 million in 2018.
We don’t know incentives and other things, so it is guess-work for the time being. We also don’t know what guarantees are like after the first year. The 49ers have generally done a good job under Paraag Marathe when it comes to negotiating and structuring contracts, so I am intrigued to see how this ends up structured.