San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley has agreed to terms on a reworked contract, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Staley was scheduled to earn $10.97 million over the next two years but will now receive $17.4 million over the same timeframe with $8.72 million coming in 2018, per the report. He earned a team-high $8.25 million in 2017 with a cap hit of $11.06 million.
#49ers OT Joe Staley agreed to terms on a reworked contract for 2018 and beyond, source said. He was due to make $11M combined in '18-'19, but he'll now make $17.4M in all. He gets a raise in 2018, $8.72M instead of $5.5M.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 17, 2018
No years were added to Staley's contract and he remains signed through the 2019 season.
Rewarding Staley with a pay raise is easy for the 49ers, who can easily absorb the new salary. San Francisco had more than $47 million in salary cap space before the move.
The 49ers made Staley, who is preparing to enter his 12th season, the 28th-overall pick out of Central Michigan in 2007. He has missed just four starts in the last seven seasons. Staley is a six-time Pro Bowl selection, including January's game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Staley finished 2017 as the second-highest graded tackle behind only David Bakhtiari of the Green Bay Packers, according to Pro Football Focus. He did not allow a quarterback pressure during the 49ers' season finale against the Los Angeles Rams and allowed just three over the team's final five games.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan discussed the possibility of Staley receiving a reworked contract.
"It's something that we are considering," Shanahan said via the Sacramento Bee. "We've got to see how this all plays out. … I wish we could overpay everybody. I mean, these guys deserve it in my opinion. What they go through, what they put their bodies through, the pressure that they're under. But you also have to do what's right for the organization. You want to do what's right for all of your players."
Staley, 33, told NBC Sports Bay Area in January that he began to contemplate retirement during the 2017 season.
"I wasn't coming into work with the same kind of enthusiasm that I usually come in with," Staley told Matt Maiocco.
At the time, the 49ers were winless, had a new staff, and a new direction. Staley sought out Shanahan to have a conversation about the situation and his future in the NFL. The veteran tackle felt like his career was in a rut.
"At that moment, it was like, 'Oh man, is this how my career is going to end with my knee acting up and not playing well?'" he continued.
Luckily for the 49ers, the conversation with Shanahan got Staley excited about continuing to play. "He kind of really got my mind back on track," he said. "We had a good conversation. We talked for probably about an hour. [He] just got me refocused and all that."
The 49ers' late 2017 run now has Staley excited for the future. The team finished by winning six of its last seven games and five consecutive victories with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm of the offense. In January, Staley took to Twitter to make a request of the Niner Faithful for next season – get loud and rowdy at Levi's Stadium.
I feel like I still have the best football of my career with this staff and team. Excited to get the next season started!! I want a loud and rowdy @LevisStadium next year!! pic.twitter.com/r8m0VEqszW
— Joe Staley (@jstaley74) January 10, 2018
Finishing his career with the 49ers is important to Staley. The tackle spoke on that with Maiocco.
"I just think, you spend so much time in one spot, I just feel like it would mean that much more to me to be able to be a part of something, go through the tough times, and get back to the top," Staley said. "I just know that if we do win a Super Bowl while I'm here, that it would just be that much more special to be able to do it in one spot, and withstanding all those tough times, and finally win the ring.
"I also don't want to chase a ring (by joining another team). I can't speak to anybody else, but for me, it would feel like I really didn't have a big part in that. I was kind of running coattails of other players or whatever if I was to get traded to a different team.
"And also, I just don't want to go anywhere else. This place has been really good to me, and I love the people here. Even in the tough times, this is home to me."
