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Over the Cap finally has San Francisco 49ers star tight end’s breakdown of his record-breaking contract. The Niners structured his deal to protect themselves in case the salary cap takes a hit due to the loss of revenue from COVID-19 over the next two seasons. Here’s a look at Kittle’s cap numbers:
2020: $5.8m
2021: $5.5m
2022: $16.1m
2023: $16.3m
2024: $18.1m
2025: $15.5m
Kittle will have a base salary of $2.1 million in 2020, which would have been similar to what he would have made without the extension. The difference is Kittle gets a $3.6 million prorated bonus. In 2021, Kittle’s base salary is only $1.25 million, with a $4 million prorated bonus.
As you can see, Kittle’s cap number more than triples after 2021. His base salary jumps to $11.4 million in 2022. Here’s a look at how each year will be for Kittle’s base salary:
2020: $2.1m
2021: $1.2m
2022: $11.4m
2023: $11.6m
2024: $13.4m
2025: $14.4m
Kittle’s guaranteed salary totals $3.3 million for his contract—so only through 2021. On April 1 of 2021, Kittle’s 2022 salary will become fully guaranteed, and on April 1 of 2022, $4.9 million of Kittle’s 2022 salary will be guaranteed. There are annual per-game bonuses as part of the contract. Kittle’s 2020 cap hit increased by $3.6 million as part of the extension. He’ll get a $100K workout bonus each year.
If the 49ers ever want to get out of Kittle’s contract, that could happen as soon as 2022. They’ll save $12 million against the cap with a post-June 1 designation to release Kittle. San Francisco would have to eat just over $4 million in cap space. The same is true for 2023, and the cap savings jumps to $14 million in 2024. In the final year of his deal, the 49ers would only have $450,000 in dead money and save $15 million in cap savings. Kittle will be 32. I’d say, judging by the start of his career, there’s a far better chance of Kittle getting an extension/restructuring than him making it to the final two years of this contract. Over The Cap has the 49ers with $8.6 million in cap space after Kittle’s deal. Our cap guy Jason Hurley says the deal leaves the 49ers $2.7 million in cap space for 2021. That’s with a projected cap of $175 million.