The San Francisco 49ers signed another draft pick to his contract. The team announced on Friday that linebacker Reuben Foster agreed to terms on his rookie contract. The 49ers now have eight rookies under contract, with only first round pick defensive tackle Solomon Thomas and third round pick quarterback C.J. Beathard still unsigned. Beathard is practicing after signing a waiver, while Thomas remains away from the team until Stanford’s final exams end (per NFL rule).
Foster (6’1, 228 lbs) was the second of two first-round draft picks (31st overall) selected by the 49ers in this year’s draft out of Alabama. He appeared in 51 games (24 starts) during his four-year career at Alabama and registered 222 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed and eight sacks.
In 2016, he was named First-Team All-America by the Associated Press, SEC Championship Game MVP and the winner of the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. That season, he started all 15 games and led the Crimson Tide with 115 tackles, ranked fourth on the team with 13 tackles for loss and added five sacks and two passes defensed. In 2015, he saw action in all 15 games and totaled 73 tackles, nine passes defensed, eight tackles for loss and two sacks. He appeared in 11 games as a sophomore in 2011, recording 22 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. As a true freshman, he saw action in 10 games in 2013, registering 12 tackles and one tackle for loss.
We don’t have the exact specifics of the contract but the rookie wage scale means contracts are easier to project out. Our friends at Over The Cap are able to give a specific idea of what the rookie contract will look like. We don’t know about workout and roster bonuses, but we can get close on the signing bonus and base salaries.
According to that, Foster’s deal is worth $9,035,568. He gets a $4,711,320 signing bonus, and base salaries of $465,000, $875,708, $1,286,416, and $735,000. Because the 49ers moved back into the first round to select Foster at No. 31, they get a fifth year option on his deal. They will decide on the fifth year option in May 2020.
Signing bonus: $4,711,320
2017 base: $465,000
Cap hit: $1,642,830
2018 base: $875,708
Cap hit: $2,053,538
2019 base: $1,286,416
Cap hit: $2,464,246
2020 base: $735,000
Roster and/or workout bonus: $962,124
Cap hit: $2,874,954