The San Francisco 49ers would like to complete a long-term contract with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo rather than use the franchise tag on him. It would give the 49ers a sense of security at the position for years to come. On Wednesday, general manager John Lynch said the team is working hard towards getting a deal done.
"We're working hard towards that, and we'll see," he said. "I think [Garoppolo] wants to be with us and we want him there. I think it makes too much sense not to happen and so it's just a matter of getting it done."
While the 49ers are working hard to get a deal in place, Garoppolo and his agent, Don Yee, may not be in as much of a hurry. ESPN insider Adam Schefter joined KNBR on Thursday morning and sounded confident that a deal will get done.
"First of all, there's a relationship between [Yee and 49ers chief strategy officer and executive VP of football operations Paraag Marathe]," Schefter said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "They've known each other for a while. There's trust there. There's friendship there. Obviously, this is a big business deal so that takes precedence and that goes ahead of their relationship. They've been talking. It's not like they haven't been talking."
Why would Yee not be in a rush to get a deal done? According to Schefter, it all has to do with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
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"I don't think it's that complex of a deal," he continued. "The issue that you have here, I think, is that at some point this offseason, we may see a deal get done for Aaron Rodgers. And when those numbers come in, they're going to be really high. Really high. So if you're the 49ers, you may want to move quicker.
"And if you're Jimmy Garoppolo, Jimmy GQ and Don Yee, I think you probably want to slow play this until these numbers come in because they're only going to boost your value.
"But I think when push comes to shove, when the deal gets done, if I had to guess, I would guess it comes in between $25-30 million a year, depending on some of the variable factors.
"Now, again, what in the grand scheme of things is the big deal to the fan or really the 49ers? Yeah, they're going to try to save a little bit of cap space as they can but the 49ers are very shrewd and very smart, and they're going to come up with a structure and a deal that works for them. And Don Yee is going to work with them to a certain extent, as much as he can representing his client, and in the end, they'll come up with a deal. They'll get a deal done. It will be a fair deal. It won't be something that completely handcuffs the 49ers and, like I said, my guess would be somewhere between $25-30 million a year."
Should a long-term deal not be agreed upon, the 49ers can use the franchise tag on Garoppolo between February 20 and March 6 to ensure the quarterback stays in San Francisco at least one more year at a cost close to $23.5 million for next season. Then they can continue to work on an extended contract until July 16. After that date, the 49ers and Garoppolo would not be able to discuss a multi-year deal until after the 2018 regular season.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Schefter below.