Three months after not granting Deebo Samuel’s trade request, the San Francisco 49ers gave their All-Pro wide receiver something to smooth over any lingering hard feelings.
The messy offseason path to a contract extension ended Sunday with the once-disgruntled Samuel receiving a lot of money. Samuel signed a three-year, $71.55 million extension that includes $58.1 million guaranteed, according to reports. The deal has a maximum value of $73.5 million.
Samuel’s contract numbers are nearly identical to the three-year, $72 million extension signed Thursday by Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, whose agent, Tory Dandy, also represents Samuel. Metcalf received $58.2 million guaranteed. Samuel’s average annual salary of $23.85 makes him the NFL’s seventh million-highest paid player at his position.
The details of the contract structure haven’t been revealed, but it could be considered a mild surprise that Samuel’s numbers didn’t eclipse those of Metcalf given the unique dual role Samuel assumed last year.
Samuel ranked fifth in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,405 — 438 more than Metcalf — and averaged a league-best 18.2 yards per catch. In addition, though, he added 377 rushing yards, averaged 6.2 yards per attempt and set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a receiver (8) while ranking second among wideouts in touches (180, including playoffs).
Was Samuel, 26, not properly compensated for the value he provides as a game-changing, part-time running back and the increased injury risk he assumes in doing so? It’s worth noting that unlike Metcalf, 24, who had 141 catches for 2,203 yards in his first two seasons, Samuel had a relatively skimpy resume before his 2021 breakout: Samuel averaged 45 catches and 597 yards – and missed 10 games due to injury – in his first two seasons.
In addition, the 49ers could have budged when it came to the length of Samuel’s extension. Samuel will be 30 when his new contract is set to expire after the 2025 season, giving him a chance to land another mega-deal near the end of his top earning years.
The 49ers have preferred to sign their best players — tight end George Kittle, inside linebacker Fred Warner and left tackle Trent Williams, among them — to deals of at least five seasons for salary cap purposes.
Teams can prorate signing bonuses over the life of contracts and longer deals allow them to spread out the cap hits to make them more manageable. That’s particularly relevant for the 49ers, who are facing a future cap crunch with four players on the roster who are among the NFL’s two highest-paid players at their position. Those players, Kittle, Warner, Samuel and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, along with defensive tackle Arik Armstead, are scheduled to count more than $93 million against their 2023 salary cap.
How will they also account for Samuel and Pro Bowl pass rusher Nick Bosa, who is scheduled to earn $17.8 million in 2023 on his fifth-year option, but will likely sign his own massive extension after this season? The 49ers will receive some much-needed relief this summer by either trading or releasing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a move that will create $25.55 million in cap space that can be rolled over into 2023.
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Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism