The San Francisco 49ers signed Kyle Juszczyk to a four-year, $21 million deal last week, and it had people wonder what the heck was going on. The APY was 2.5 times the highest fullback, and even though Juszczyk is expected to be a versatile weapon for the 49ers, people were still a bit skeptical of the dollar figures.
As is usually the case with NFL contracts, there is more than meets the eye to the contract. Paraag Marathe and the 49ers have done a good job negotiating contracts over the past decade, but really, NFL teams as a whole are usually able to get well structured deals.
Juszczyk can make a lot of money on this deal, but it gives them a chance to evaluate the deal every year. Aaron Wilson and Pro Football Talk have the details, and there are the usual injury guarantees we are used to, plus option years that have become more regular.
Juszczyk received a $5 million signing bonus, which pro-rates to $1.25 million per year. He has been guaranteed $2 million in 2017 base salary, and then has a chance to earn $400,000 in roster bonuses ($25,000 per game) and a workout bonus of $100,000. His $2.75 million base salary for 2018 is guaranteed for injury, and becomes fully guaranteed next April. Effectively, this deal is a one-year $7.5 million deal, with a chance to become as much as four-years and $21 million, depending on if there are any NLTBE incentives he might hit.
Here’s a full rundown of the deal.
2017 cap hit: $3,750,000
Base: $2,000,000 (fully guaranteed)
Pro-rated SB: $1,250,000
Roster bonus: $400,000
Workout bonus: $100,000
2018 cap hit: $4,500,000
Base: $2,750,000 (injury guarantee, full on 4/1/18)
Pro-rated SB: $1,250,000
Roster bonus: $400,000
Workout bonus: $100,000
2019 cap hit: $5,950,000
Base: $4,200,000 (team option)
Pro-rated SB: $1,250,000
Roster bonus: $400,000
Workout bonus: $100,000
2020 cap hit: $6,800,000
Base: $5,050,000 (team option)
Pro-rated SB: $1,250,000
Roster bonus: $400,000
Workout bonus: $100,000