At this point there is little doubt that the 49ers want to ink quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a long-term deal. The question is, when?
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already stated publicly that the one-year franchise tag makes the most sense in the short term, but that was a few weeks ago, before Garoppolo had a 4-0 record, and led the 49ers to consecutive victories against AFC playoff teams. It seems clear at this point that Jimmy G is the quarterback of the future, and that the 49ers might be open to doing a long-term deal now, if Garoppolo is also ready to make the commitment.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter seems to think a long-term deal could easily get done this offseason if both sides are willing.
“First of all there is a great relationship between both sides,” Schefter said of Garoppolo and the 49ers. “I would say that they’ll be having conversations, and Paraag (Marathe) and Don (Yee) (Garoppolo’s agent) have a great relationship, and it’s something I think will be very, very amicable going forward. I would think that they would have discussions. I would think that they would sit down and meet perhaps in person, perhaps in Indianapolis. Usually agents have to go there for the agent re-certification meetings. All teams are in attendance, there’s a lot of meetings that go on there.
“I don’t think it’s a real difficult deal to get done if that’s the direction the Niners want to go in. I really don’t. If Jimmy Garoppolo has such a lofty number in mind that it’s not palatable for the 49ers, then maybe at that point you use the franchise tag, but I think Don Yee has shown over time that he is very willing to do deals like this, very capable of doing deals like this, very good at doing deals like this. It should not be a difficult negotiation.”
Schefter believes Garoppolo’s market value at this point is somewhere between $21-$25 million per year, depending on guaranteed money. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is currently the highest paid QB in the league, and just inked a deal worth an average of $27 million per season. Whatever the number is, the 49ers can afford it, as they are projected to have over $100 million in salary cap space heading into the 2018 offseason.
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Schefter’s comments on Jimmy G, start from the beginning.
