Jimmy Garoppolo's season may be over, but he is still earning money. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback just made $51,000 thanks to his former team, the New England Patriots, making it to the AFC Championship Game following their 35-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
A player's salary is paid off by their teams on a weekly basis during the NFL's 17-week regular season. Teams are not responsible for the money earned by players during the playoffs. That money comes from a league pool.
Former sports agent and current writer for CBS Sports, Joel Corry, outlined the payment system for the NFL playoffs in a January 3 article. It is as follows:
Wild-card round: Division winners - $28,000, Wild-cards - $26,000
Divisional playoffs: $28,000
Conference championship game: $51,000
Super Bowl: Winning team - $112,000, Losing team - $56,000
Garoppolo was traded from the Patriots to the 49ers on October 30. Before that, he was on New England's roster for eight games, which makes him eligible to earn money based on how far the team makes it in the postseason. Had he been traded to an AFC team, he would not have been eligible. Instead, he is with the 49ers and is out of conference, which means he has a financial reason to root for his former club.
If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, Gaoppolo can earn the maximum of $163,000, which is the bonus sum of a conference championship appearance and a Super Bowl championship. As Corry explains, he is not eligible for the $28,000 earned for the Patriots' divisional round appearance because players no longer on the roster are only eligible for the conference championship and Super Bowl bonuses.
Other 49ers players that could make some extra cash are defensive linemen Cassius Marsh and Sheldon Day. Marsh spent nine games with the Patriots while Day played 10 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Marsh will earn the same amount as Garoppolo while Day's former team must beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday for him to begin cashing in.
Of course, Garoppolo and his agent are focused on a much larger payday from the 49ers this offseason. To remain with San Francisco, Garoppolo will either need to agree to a multi-year deal with the 49ers or get hit with the franchise tag at the estimated cost of about $23.5 million for 2018. Either way, he looks to be among the top-paid players next season.
Right now, Garoppolo is scheduled to become a free agent on March 14. The 49ers can use the franchise tag on the quarterback between February 20 and March 6.
