The San Francisco 49ers and Colin Kaepernick are working on restructuring his contract, and while the deal is not yet done, details continue to leak out. USA Today NFL writer Tom Pelissero is reporting the deal would add $1 million in playing time incentives, and convert his $2 million in per-game roster bonuses to guaranteed salary. Pelissero also confirmed the deal would give Kaepernick a chance to become a free agent next offseason.
Kaepernick’s original contract included $2 million in roster bonuses each season. The 49ers do that in most of their big deals as it can help offset against a major injury. In this case, Kaepernick gets paid $125,000 for each game in which he is on the active roster. Whether he plays or remains the backup, he was going to earn those so long as he remained healthy.
The deal still is not done. I think it gets done, but let’s not put the cart before the horse as it would appear someone at the 49ers did in leaking this to Ian Rapoport. The 49ers return to practice on Tuesday, and offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins is expected to speak to the media before practice. I doubt he gives us any more insight into the position, but we’ll wait for whatever information and leaks we can get.