*- These bonuses are per-game roster bonuses.
This is Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract.
Base Salary: The thing that's somewhat unique in Jimmy Garoppolo’s base salary is the fact that he has base salary guaranteed for injury. Garoppolo has a mix of full guarantees and guarantees for injury. His base salaries in 2018 and part of 2019 were fully guaranteed, while the rest of the 2019 base salary and part of the 2020 base salary are guaranteed for injury. The money earmarked for injury will only be guaranteed if the 49ers release Garoppolo with an injury designation, which means Garoppolo would not pass a physical at the time of release.
Prorated Signing Bonus: Garoppolo’s $7 million signing bonus is extremely low for a quarterback. For reference, Russell Wilson got a $65 million signing bonus on his new contract. This low signing bonus gives the 49ers flexibility later in the deal.
Roster Bonus: The $28 million roster bonus in the first year of the contract was due on day three of the 2018 league year, while the contract was signed on February 8th, 2018. The main reason that this large roster bonus was used was to give Garoppolo a lot of money up front without having to prorate that over the contract. The rest of the roster bonuses on Garoppolo's contract are per-game roster bonuses which pay Garoppolo if he's on the starting 46-man roster on gameday. So, each game Garoppolo is active, he earns an extra $50k.
Workout Bonus: Garoppolo earns 600k every year for participating fully in offseason workouts.
Cap Hit: Garoppolo's contract is a true "front-loaded" contract, which is rare in the NFL. His $37 million first-year cap hit is easily the highest cap hit during his deal, which is rare for large NFL contracts that go past three years.
Dead Money and Cap Savings: This is where the true team-friendly nature of Garoppolo's deal shows. Due to the insignificant signing bonus and the front-loaded cap hits Garoppolo, could have been cut after just year two of his deal. Quarterbacks usually have more in the way of guarantees to ensure they can have more security, but Garoppolo is betting on himself playing well enough that the 49ers would not have any reason to release him. Due to insignificant dead money after year two, Garoppolo’s contract is functionally a two-year/$57 million deal with three team-option years of around $24 million each.
Once a fan understands how the intricacies of a contract works, a whole new perspective can be used when judging contracts. Many criticized the Sammy Watkins signing at the time due to the large total money on the deal, however, the Chiefs could get out of the contract in year three and the contract was not as it seemed.
This is emphasized even more in Jimmy Garoppolo’s deal where, at the time, many fans and pundits slammed the deal for being an overpaying of Garoppolo. However, after looking into the contract and seeing how it was constructed, it’s a very different contract than it first seemed.
This is the beauty of NFL contracts. They are intricate deals crafted to not only please the player, but the general manager and the team. The push and pull between NFL front offices and players leads to many unique contracts that have to be understood beyond a surface-level to truly understand. With that knowledge, all fans can form informed opinions about contracts in the NFL.
Next week: The Art of NFL Contracts Part 3: Rules and Ideals on Contracts and Cap Space.