It was reported on March 15 that the San Francisco 49ers were able to renegotiate defensive end Dee Ford's contract, providing some salary-cap relief this year. We finally have some of the new contract's details, thanks to OverTheCap.com.
While Ford's contract now extends through 2023, that final year is voided but does have a salary-cap impact due to the defender's prorated bonus. Below is a breakdown of Ford's current contract.
2021
Base Salary: $4 million
Prorated Bonus: $4.9 million
Roster Bonus: none
Guaranteed Salary: $4 million
Cap Hit: $8.9 million
2022
Base Salary: $2.4 million
Prorated Bonus: $4.9 million
Roster Bonus: $4.6 million
Guaranteed Salary: none
Cap Hit: $11.9 million
2023 (Voided)
Base Salary: none
Prorated Bonus: $4.9 million
Roster Bonus: none
Guaranteed Salary: none
Cap Hit: $4.9 million
The most important aspect of this new deal is the impact on the 49ers' salary-cap space. Before reporting the contract details, OverTheCap.com estimated that San Francisco had about $7.86 million in cap space. That number now sits at about $20.2 million.
The new figure does not include today's signings of safeties Jaquiski Tartt or Tavon Wilson.
More details on the contract may emerge. OverTheCap.com's explanation is below. It doesn't exactly match up with the numbers above, which are directly from the site. Still, the new deal obviously clears up a significant amount of cap space this year.
"The 49ers renegotiated Ford's contract in 2021, reducing his salary from $16 million to a fully guaranteed $7 million, $3 million of which is paid as a signing bonus. Ford has an injury guaranteed $4.6 million roster bonus in 2022 to cover his injury protection liability from his prior contract. 2023 is now a void year. The team picked up about $11 million in cap space with the move."