As you undoubtedly know by now, Jimmy Garoppolo's five-year, $137.5 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers was a record deal. That $27.5 million average may seem scary at first glance, but it is actually very team-friendly because of how it is structured. A big chunk of Garoppolo's money will be earned this year, which leaves the already cap-comfy 49ers unworried about their financial future.
Andrew Brandt of The MMQB and The Athletic joined KNBR on Thursday night to share why the deal made so much sense for the 49ers, which he initially thought should have had a deal in place when the traded with the New England Patriots for Garoppolo in late-October took place.
"Now, Don Yee and Jimmy probably said, 'We're not going to do one,' and [the 49ers] took the risk," Brandt said on the "Fitz & Brooks" show regarding a potential earlier deal. "I thought all the leverage shifted to Garoppolo and the agent, which it did. And the question everyone seems to be asking me is: Did they use that leverage? On the surface, all the reports, it sounds like they did. They got the highest average."
"But I thought, as you just said, the Niners did the deal they wanted," Brandt continued. "They front-loaded the cap, which they can do. They'll never use all the cap room they have. It's amazing how much room they have. And it's a two-year deal. It's the Kaepernick deal at higher numbers."
Brandt goes on to say the structure of the deal doesn't necessarily guarantee that Garoppolo will be with the 49ers for the life of the contract. Although, the Niner Faithful hope that he is.
"Maybe he won't," Brandt said. "And if he's not, they don't owe him a dime. So I just think they were able to get their structure. After two years, it's all on the risk of Garoppolo. There's no risk for the Niners, which to me is an amazing story coming out of that negotiation."
Garoppolo will earn $61.2 million over the first two years of his new deal, according to contract details revealed by Adam Schefter of ESPN. At the end of his third year, he will have earned a total of $86.4 million with an additional $51.1 million coming after his final two years of the deal.
You can listen to the entire interview with Brandt below.