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49ers sign Jimmie Ward, Chris Borland to rookie contracts

The San Francisco 49ers moved two steps closer to locking up their 2014 rookie class. The team announced the signing of two more picks.

By David Fucillo
Kirk Irwin

The San Francisco 49ers took care of some more business Thursday afternoon, announcing they have signed first round pick Jimmie Ward and third round pick Chris Borland to their rookie contracts. The 49ers have signed all but three members of their 2014 rookie class. Earlier Thursday, the 49ers restructured NaVorro Bowman's deal, which cleared more than enough room for the rest of the rookie class.

Here are the contract estimates, courtesy of Over The Cap. They’ve been pretty spot on with the rookie pool estimates, but if there are any differences when others leak out the numbers, we'll update accordingly.

Jimmie Ward

Signing Bonus: $3,492,748
2014 Base + any bonuses: $420,000
2015 Base + any bonuses: $743,296
2016 Base + any bonuses: $1,066,592
2017 Base + any bonuses: $1,389,888

The Ward deal also includes a fifth year option. As a pick outside the top ten, the option salary will be determined based on the transition tag formula, except it will be the average of salaries 3 through 25 (as opposed to average of top 10). The 49ers will not decide on this option until after his 2016 season (so, January to May 3, 2017).

Chris Borland

Signing Bonus: $617,436
2014 Base: $420,000
2015 Base: $540,000
2016 Base: $630,000
2017 Base: $720,000

One thing that is interesting is that players in the first three rounds end up with salaries above the league minimum after year one. It appears all the 49ers picks will have the league minimum $420,000, but after that they get slight bumps. On the other hand, picks in the fourth round and on are earning minimum base salaries every year. I don't see anything specific about base salary per pick in the CBA, but it's still interesting to see.

Rookie contracts generally do not include many guarantees aside from the signing bonus. It is possible Ward gets more guarantees, but we don't know what specifically yet. There is no fifth year option for non-first round picks, but for picks in rounds three through seven, there is the proven performance escalator. Bruce Miller and Chris Culliver both qualified for the PPE, which resulted in a bump in their respective 2014 salaries. 

Ward and Borland are the eighth and ninth draft picks to put pen to paper with the 49ers. Below, we've got the 2014 draft class and their signing statuses:

49ers 2014 draft class

1 (30). Jimmie Ward, DB, Northern Illinois - SIGNED
2 (57). Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State - SIGNED
3 (70). Marcus Martin, C, USC
3 (77). Chris Borland, ILB, Wisconsin - SIGNED
3 (100). Brandon Thomas, OG, Clemson
4 (106). Bruce Ellington, WR, South Carolina
4 (129). Dontae Johnson, CB, NC State - SIGNED
5 (150). Aaron Lynch, DE/OLB, South Florida - SIGNED
5 (170). Keith Reaser, CB, Florida Atlantic - SIGNED
6 (180). Kenneth Acker, CB, SMU - SIGNED
7 (243). Kaleb Ramsey, DE, Boston College - SIGNED
7 (245). Trey Millard, FB, Oklahoma - SIGNED

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