Just before the second day of the NFL Draft began, the 49ers made some news.
According to Field Yates, San Francisco restructured the contract of Christian McCaffrey, creating $8.576 million in cap space.
They also reportedly restructured the contracts of both Fred Warner (saved $9.5 million) and Charvarius Ward (saved nearly $10 million) earlier this offseason. All three moves created roughly $28 million in cap space.
While signs are the 49ers will not trade Trey Lance, he would have an $11,081,912 dead cap hit if dealt before June 1. That would cut $1.78 million into the cap and put the 49ers right up against it.
This is not anywhere close to an indication Lance will be dealt and is likely independent of those rumblings, but it does make that option more viable.
The move was fully expected. McCaffrey’s deal was conspicuously without guarantees after an outstanding, resurgent season last year.
Before the restructure, he had three years left on his deal with $12 million cap hits in the next two and $12.2 million in the final year. Only $200,000 was guaranteed each year.
His $11.8 million (2023, 2024) and $12 million (2025) base salaries were fully non-guaranteed. McCaffrey was always going to stick around. This guarantees him significant money and gives the 49ers more breathing room.
