Harrison Smith's contract extension, and what it means for 49ers safety Eric Reid

The Minnesota Vikings announced on Monday that safety Harrison Smith signed a five-year contract extension, worth a reported $51.25 million. Pro Football Talk is reporting that Smith received a $10 million signing bonus, with an additional $5.278 million fully guaranteed. PFT's sources state Smith’s five year APY is around $10.25 million, while first 3 seasons come in at an average of $10.75 million per year.

NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed like MLB or NBA contracts. Players will get partial guarantees, and we saw Phil Dawson get a full guarantee, but for the most part deals do not include full guarantees. And so, when looking at contract numbers, I always look at a handful of key factors to figure out how long a player might be on the team:

1. Total reported value
2. APY, or average per year
3. Total fully guaranteed money
4. Length of the deal.

Last month, the San Francisco 49ers exercised Eric Reid’s fifth year option for 2017. The 49ers held that right over the 2013 draft pick, and the option is worth $5.676 million. It is guaranteed for injury right now, and becomes fully guaranteed at the beginning of the 2017 new league year, which is next March.

The Vikings drafted Smith with the 29th pick overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. A year ago, the Vikings exercised the fifth year option on Smith, which locked him up for the 2016 season. It became fully guaranteed this past March, but the team and Smith were able to work out this extension.

With that in mind, it makes sense to take a look at what Eric Reid might earn on his next contract. This coming season will be his fourth year, and then he will be under contract for his fifth year in 2017. The team can get a long-term deal done at any point moving forward, but the option year provides plenty of time to get something done.

I suspect that Reid will want somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 million to $10 million a year. This could prove to be out of the 49ers price range. In 2014, they signed Antoine Bethea to a four-year, $21 million deal, with just $6.25 million fully guaranteed. Bethea is older than Reid, but until we know how exactly they value Reid, it is one marker in this discussion.

We have a pretty good idea of Harrison Smith's contract, and we know what the 49ers gave Antoine Bethea. Now let’s take a look at some other safety comparisons around the league, courtesy of Over The Cap.

Earl Thomas – Seattle Seahawks

Thomas signed a four-year extension in 2014, worth $40 million. It included $14.225 million fully guaranteed, and had an APY of $10 million.

Devin McCourty – New England Patriots

McCoutry signed a five-year extension in 2015, worth $47.5 million deal. It included $22 million fully guaranteed, and had an APY of $9.5 million.

Mark Barron – Los Angeles Rams

Barron signed a five-year extension this offseason following his midseason trade from the Bucs. The deal is worth $45 million, with $15 million fully guaranteed, and APY of $9 million.

Malcolm Jenkins – Philadelphia Eagles

Jenkins signed a four-year extension this past February. The deal is worth $35 million extension, with $16 million fully guaranteed, and an APY of $8.75 million.

I expect the 49ers to offer Reid something along the lines of a five-year deal, worth $8.5 million a year, with $12.5 million in fully guaranteed money. This would make him the eighth highest paid safety, behind Eric Berry, Earl Thomas, Devin McCourty, Mark Barron, Jarius Byd, Malcolm Jenkins, and, of course, Harrison Smith. I think a $10 million signing bonus is a good bet on the $12.5 million guaranteed, with the rest being base guarantees.

You can expect the 49ers to guarantee his first year base salary. Then, either his second year would be fully guaranteed, or would become guaranteed on April 1 of that year. I’m betting more on the latter, and the 49ers go with the April 1 date, which is something they frequently do with big extensions.

Also expect the 49ers to insist on workout bonuses and roster bonuses tied to the 46-man active game day roster. I don’t necessarily expect Reid to accept this deal, especially if he believes he is better than any of the names I mentioned in this article. Plus the 49ers won’t offer a new deal until they see Reid play a full season, fully healthy. But these are some numbers we can start at in considering a Reid extension.

As always you can follow me on Twitter, @Jay_AB81, or check our salary cap section here, on Niners Nation, which is now officially the exclusive home for my salary cap information.