Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, and the 49ers’ Cap Future

What’s the hold-up with Williams, the details on Aiyuk, and the impacts on the 49ers salary cap?

Nov 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers enter the weekend knowing they need to get Trent Williams signed. Long-term, the Brandon Aiyuk extension adds clarity to the 49ers cap plans going forward.

The latest with Trent Williams

49ers content creator Marco Martinez of Clutch Gene Sports on YouTube broke the Aiyuk signing on Twitter/X hours ahead of the announcement.

49ers fans are going to have a great weekend. Y’all can relax and enjoy the 3 day weekend. Bring out the #11 jerseys, make sure they clean because we got our #1 WR back!

— Marco Martinez (@marco_mart1205) August 29, 2024

Martinez reports that Williams wants fully guaranteed money for 2024 and 2025 within his existing deal. The hold-up is the Niners don’t want to be stuck with the massive cap hit from fully guaranteed money in the second year if Williams retires. They’ve offered half of the money guaranteed in the second year.

Martinez says that’s where talks stand at the moment, with both sides trying to resolve that issue and get a contract signed this weekend. The Niners want Williams signed and practicing on Tuesday. Martinez says he’s heard the Niners are “making a full-court press” to try to get the deal done.

Williams is looking to be the highest paid tackle in the league, currently Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs at $28.12M per year.

Aiyuk and the future cap

To get clarity on Brandon Aiyuk’s deal and the 49ers cap situation going forward, I turned to cap guru Jason Hurley of 49erscap.com for the answers.

Hurley says Aiyuk’s deal essentially breaks down to 3 years, $76 million. By April 1, 2025 Aiyuk will be paid $47 million in cash and on that day the rest of the $76M is fully guaranteed. The 49ers can look to get out of the deal after the 2026 season.

Aiyuk received a $23 million signing bonus, a $22.85M option bonus for 2025 and a $24.9M bonus for 2026. He makes the base minimum salary in both years. Non-guaranteed base salaries are $27.3M in 2027 and $29.1M in 2028. The Niners save $8.39M on the cap this season.

Aiyuk’s cap hits by season:
2024: $5.7M
2025: $11.2M
2026: $16.2M
2027: $42.25M (non-guaranteed)
2028: $44.16M (non-guaranteed)
2029 and 2030: Void years

Hurley estimates Aiyuk’s dead cap hit would be $33M in 2027 if the Niners get out of the deal then, saving $8.9M on the cap pre-June 1st. In 2028, the dead cap hit is $28.7M, or $15.5M in 2029 at the end of his deal.

Does Deebo have to go next year?

Hurley says no from a cap perspective. The Niners can cut him next year to save $9M, but they can also restructure to save more. Samuel counts $24.23M against the 2025 cap with a $16.6M base salary, restructuring to the minimum in 2025 would save the Niners $12.4M on the cap.

The 49ers may still look to move on from Deebo given they have low-cost rookies that are a threat to score in space in Jacob Cowing and Isaac Guerendo. All Hurley’s saying is the cap numbers do not force the Niners to move on from Samuel next year.

How can the Niners afford to do all this, pay Brock Purdy, and still stay under the cap?

The key is the league’s new tv contracts driving up the cap. In 2024 the NFL salary cap is $255.4 million. Hurley says in 2026 the cap could be $300 million.

As for Purdy, Hurley says use Trevor Lawrence’s deal as a guide. Lawrence starts at $15M on the cap, followed by $17M and $24M, then much higher numbers after that. Hurley says Purdy could be higher early in the deal, much will depend on the signing bonus.

What if George Kittle and Fred Warner ask for the Christian McCaffrey deal?

I expect they will, possibly after this season. Hurley projects that new deals with large bonuses and the minimum base salary could have cap savings as much as $10.5M for Kittle and $13.1M for Warner in the first year.

What about the free agents after this season?

The big five are Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, and Aaron Banks. Hurley projects that the Niners would likely let Hufanga and Banks go, but could afford to extend Ward, Lenoir, and Greenlaw.

Easier said than done given their likely demand around the league, but Hurley says the cap is not a barrier to re-signing them at market value.

Fans suggest entering contract talks with Lenoir now, but he’s said he’ll wait until after the season, anticipating that he’ll have higher market value then.

The Niners have 21 unrestricted free agents, most of those outside the big five can be kept for around the league minimum using the fourth-year qualifying contract.

Jordan Mason is a restricted free agent, Hurley expects he would be tendered as the Niners just did with Jauan Jennings.