SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The 49ers splurged on a dual-threat running back who’ll be on the Levi’s Stadium field this Sunday – in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform.
Remember Jerick McKinnon?
His is a cautionary tale for those envisioning Christian McCaffrey’s massive impact on the 49ers, who traded for him Thursday night from the Carolina Panthers.
Four years ago, the 49ers signed McKinnon in free agency (four years, $30 million) to spice up Kyle Shanahan’s state-of-the-art, motion-based offense. Before McKinnon’s tenure officially started, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament a week before the 2018 season opener. After a follow-up surgery in 2019 and a modest role in 2020, McKinnon became a reserve on the Chiefs.
Simply put, a sudden injury can ruin grand plans — not that anyone wants to jinx McCaffrey’s health and add further to his medical record.
Rather, take a moment to inspect how this trade impacts the 49ers’ financial outlook.
McCaffrey, unlike McKinnon in 2018, is a proven commodity befitting a massive contract.
That said, he is guaranteed only the remaining $690,000 in prorated salary this season.
Pending a likely restructure, his contract runs through 2025, at base salaries of $11.8 million, $11.8 million and $12 million.
By coughing up four draft picks for McCaffrey, the 49ers don’t figure to merely rent McCaffrey for an 11-game stretch and projected playoff return.
A $12 million salary isn’t too steep if McCaffrey produces back at his All-Pro level and brings needed play-making prowess to the 49ers (3-3). He would have the sixth-highest salary next season if he returns at $11.8 million, putting him behind Trent Williams ($19.4 million), Nick Bosa ($17.9 million), Arik Armstead ($15.9 million), Charvarius Ward ($13.6 million) and Fred Warner ($12.9 million), while ahead of George Kittle ($11.7 million). All those contracts could be reworked, of course.
The 49ers haven’t spent so much on a running back since McKinnon, who raked in close to $20 million for his three years of service.
However, they have doled out big contracts in recent years to invest in an offensive core featuring Williams, Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Kyle Juszczyk, and, to a varying extent, Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.
Garoppolo’s original contract, an NFL record when signed in 2018, will expire at the season’s end. He reworked his deal before the season, agreeing to an $18 million pay cut while earning a $6.5 million base salary with per-game bonuses that are more likely to come since replacing an injured Lance in Week 2.
Other players with expiring contracts: running backs Jeff Wilson Jr. and Tevon Coleman; safety Jimmie Ward; right tackle Mike McGlinchey; defensive ends Samson Ebukam and Charles Omenihu; linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair; cornerback Emmanuel Moseley; offensive linemen Jake Brendel, Daniel Brunskill, and Colton McKivitiz; wide receiver Jauan Jennings; and, kicker Robbie Gould.
When it comes to contracts the 49ers must tend to before next spring, the No. 1 priority is defensive end Nick Bosa, whose fifth-year option ($17.9 million) has been exercised to at least ensure his rights for 2023.
The 49ers currently have $5.02 million of room on this season’s salary cap. The Panthers, by the way, incur a “dead-money” hit of $8 million this year and $18 million next year. They signed McCaffrey to an extension in 2020 calling for $16 million annually, keeping him from becoming a free agent this past offseason.
