Brian Hoyer Patriots contract includes minimal 49ers salary offset

The San Francisco 49ers’ decision to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo brought with it the end of the short-lived Brian Hoyer era. The 49ers made the move with an eye to the future, and with C.J. Beathard already supplanting Hoyer on the depth chart, it made no sense to retain Hoyer.

The original plan was to trade Hoyer to the Patriots, but the comp pick formula prevented that from happening. Instead, the 49ers released him, and he signed with the Patriots a day later. The decision to release Hoyer meant the 49ers were left to eat a sizable chunk of cap space. However, Hoyer’s deal did include offset language, which meant that whatever the Patriots paid him would offset what the 49ers owed him. He would not be able to “double dip,” in which the 49ers pay him his full salary and then the Patriots pay him a full salary as well.

Given that the 49ers were paying him a sizable chunk of money in 2017 and 2018, it is no surprise the Patriots are not going to pay him very much in either year. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, Hoyer’s deal is worth $4,441,000. Of that, the Patriots will pay him $476,000 this year, $915,000 next year, and $3.05 million in 2019. The 2019 money includes $2.85 million in base salary (with $1.5 million guaranteed) and a $200,000 roster bonus.

The 49ers signed Hoyer to a two-year deal, so only the 2017 and 2018 salaries matter. They are the league minimum (2017 is prorated version), so they only offset $1,391,000 in salary the 49ers are paying him. The 49ers were paying him $7.3 million this year, and $2.9 million next year. However, I believe the $476,000 would be subtracted from the $7.3 million, and the $915,000 would be subtracted from the $2.9 million.

Ian Rapoport had a tweet that seemed to suggest there was no offset based on the math he has. I am not entirely certain, although given the amount the 49ers are paying Hoyer coupled with their sizable cap space, I suppose it really doesn’t matter all that much for the time being.