Colin Kaepernick contract details: Big money opportunity for Kap, prove it deal for 49ers

The big details have officially emerged as to Colin Kaepernick's new contract extension. Pro Football Talk has the full rundown, and it's a doozy of a deal. It's not your conveniently simple contract, which is fitting given that the San Francisco 49ers incredibly talented quarterback is also a quarterback with less than two full seasons worth of starting experience.

The deal could be worth up to $126 million if Kap proves to be the transcendent talent I believe he is. However, given that anything can change over the course of seven years, the deal also provides the 49ers with numerous opportunities to get out of the deal. Kap can earn most of the money if he is a very good quarterback, but his salaries take a hit if Kap OR the team are not having pretty significant success.

The deal includes $13,073,000 in truly fully guaranteed money. That covers his signing bonus, first year salary and workout bonus. Here is a look at what each year includes (we may not like Florio, but props to him for apparently getting the details first).

Signing Bonus: $12,328,000 (for cap purposes, prorates to $2,465,600 over five years)

2014 (changed, not necessarily "part" of the 6-year extension)

Base: $645,000
Workout Bonus: $100,000
Guarantee: Base, workout bonus fully guaranteed

Cap figure: $3,767,291 (Prorated cap + base + workout + dead money from previus signing bonus ($556,691)

2015

Base: $12,400,000
Guarantee: For injury immediately, fully if on roster Apirl 1, 2015
Roster Bonus: $2,000,000 (divided over 16 games)
Workout Bonus: $400,000

Cap figure: $17,265,600 (Prorated cap + base + workout + roster)

2016

Base: $13,900,000
Guarantee: For injury immediately, fully if on roster Apirl 1, 2016
Roster Bonus: $2,000,000 (divided over 16 games)
Workout Bonus: $400,000

Cap figure: $18,765,600 (Prorated cap + base + workout + roster)

2017

Base: $16,500,000
Guarantee: For injury immediately, fully if on roster Apirl 1, 2017
Roster Bonus: $2,000,000 (divided over 16 games)
Workout Bonus: $400,000

Cap figure: $21,365,600 (Prorated cap + base + workout + roster)

2018

Base: $17,000,000
Guarantee: $5.2M immediately for injury "only until April 1, 2018"
Roster Bonus: $2,000,000 (divided over 16 games)
Workout Bonus: $400,000

Cap figure: $21,865,600 (Prorated cap + base + workout + roster)

2019

Base: $18,800,000
Roster Bonus: $2,000,000 (divided over 16 games)
Workout Bonus: $400,000

Cap figure: $21,200,000 (Base + workout + roster)

2020

Base: $21,000,000
Roster Bonus: $2,000,000 (divided over 16 games)
Workout Bonus: $400,000

Cap figure: $23,400,000 (Base + workout + roster)

De-Escalators: Each year, his compensation can decline by total $12 million over the life of the deal. To avoid de-escalator each year, Kap must play 80 percent of snaps and EITHER: 49ers appear in Super Bowl that year, or Kap is named 1st or 2nd team All-Pro. As PFT put it, if he/team don't meet the requirement in 2015, he loses $2 million, if it happens again, he loses another $2 million, and so on and so forth.

Fooch's Update: The first time Kap reaches the 80 percent and Super Bowl or 1st or 2nd team All Pro, the de-escalators stop. It starts in 2014, so if he hits 80 percent and a Super Bowl or 1st/2nd team All Pro in 2014, it halts the de-escalators.

Additional requirement: Kap required to purchase disability policy that pays 49ers $20M if he suffers a career-ending injury

There is a lot to take away from all this. It is a team friendly deal, but it also allows Colin Kaepernick to prove he is worth a ton of money. In an age when players get a whole lot of money for showing up, Colin Kaepernick has agreed to terms on a contract require he prove he's a solid quarterback, but also prove he can be a great quarterback to avoid losing some of his money. Plenty will call out his agents for structuring the deal like we see it, but I say props to Kap for keeping his cap hit limited in 2014, and knowing he still has a lot to prove in the coming years.

If Kap proves he is worth the entire value of this contract, the 49ers still are not looking at a horrendous contract. Here is a Google Doc that lists out all the big contracts over the last few years. I'll create a table combining them all together for a little easier viewing, but for now you can run through the Google Doc just to get a handle on some of the other numbers out there.

The salary cap is only going up at this point. It could climb as much as $15 million in 2015. Bob McNair told Sports Business Daily owners expect the cap increases to settle down after that because the new TV deals will be accounted for at that point. He suggested there would be more modest consistency. We'll see if that's just owner fluff or not, but next year's jump will certainly help the 49ers manage Kap's rising salary.

More importantly, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, and Robert Griffin III will all be coming due on their first contracts after their rookie deals. With the continued rise in the cap next year, that could push them past what Kap is making. The 49ers could have let Kap play out his final year, and potentially franchised him once or twice. Instead, the two sides figured out a deal that provides him a chance to earn that big APY, but also provides the 49ers with some safety valves if things go south.

More than anything, this contract shows that Colin Kaepernick is very confident in his abilities. It provides the 49ers with opportunities to extend some guys around him, and not completely gut the team like we have started to see with the Baltimore Ravens. Joe Flacco's contract included a $29 million signing bonus, and then another $15 million option bonus this year, and then another $7 million option bonus next year. That kind of stuff adds up, and given the immediate hits they've taken early on, it has cost the team.

The 49ers are not going to be able to keep everybody on their roster as they move forward into 2015 and beyond. But they have some young, cheaper replacements that will potentially replace some more expensive options. The team will need to hit on the draft with regularity, but the opportunity is there to keep this window open a little bit longer.