The San Francisco 49ers reportedly signed kicker Phil Dawson to a one-year contract over the weekend, and it appears to be fully guaranteed. NFL reporter Aaron Wilson is reporting the deal is worth $3,134,000 and is fully guaranteed for skill, injury, and cap. The 49ers have not announced the deal yet, Janie McCauley reported they are waiting for the contract to be returned to them in the mail.
If Wilson's report is correct, that is the exact same amount Dawson earned last season. Prior to the 2014 season, Dawson signed a two-year deal worth $6,134,000. It included a $2 million signing bonus, and $1.5 million in fully guaranteed base salary those two seasons. His 2015 base salary was $3.134 million, while his cap figure was $4.134 million due to the prorated signing bonus figure.
And so, Dawson is back for one more year. The team seems to be taking it year-to-year with Dawson at this point. Robert Aguayo is viewed as the top kicker in this year's draft, with some thought that he could very well be a late day two or early day three pick. It would seem like the 49ers do not feel comfortable investing a high pick in a kicker (thankfully), and so they'll let it ride with Dawson for one more year. If he has another solid year, maybe the 49ers let it ride into 2017.