The San Francisco 49ers signed cornerback Charvarius Ward to a three-year deal when the NFL's legal tampering period began on Monday night, getting themselves a potential top cornerback who's only 25 years old.
Ward, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, had an extremely productive season, displaying his man-coverage skills, while also being a stout tackler, missing only 4.3% of his tackles as a corner, both of which matter to the 49ers.
#49ers' new cornerback Charvarius Ward's advanced stats from the 2021 season: pic.twitter.com/K7kqvPDE3B
— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) March 15, 2022
While the signing of Charvarius Ward has not been officially announced yet, likely due to salary cap implications, here are the contract details of his contract, per AB81.
Ward's three-year deal is worth up to a maximum value of $42 million, although the base value of the deal is $40.5 million. The incentives are currently unknown.
In 2022, Ward has a base salary of $1.035 million, which escalates to $13.56 million in 2023, and $12.56 million in 2024.
As for bonuses, Ward's signing bonus is $12.025 million, which prorates at $2.405 million from 2022-2024. Additionally, the cornerback has yearly $340,000 per-game roster bonuses and yearly $100,000 workout bonuses. However, Ward's deal includes two void years following his three-year deal, spreading out the cap hit over five years, rather than three years, hence the $2.405 million per year.
As for guaranteed money, Ward's 2022 base salary is fully guaranteed, while $5 million of his 2023 base salary is fully guaranteed, with the remaining $8.56 million being guaranteed for injury only. However, that money becomes fully guaranteed on April 1st, 2023. Ward's 2024 base salary is non-guaranteed.
Ward's 2022 cap hit is $3.8 million, while his 2023 cap hit is $16.405 million, and his 2024 cap hit is $15.405 million.
What do these numbers mean?
Well, Ward's low base salary for 2022 was expected, as it gives the 49ers the most amount of financial flexibility to round out the remainder of their roster for 2022 while providing Ward with a good signing bonus of $12 million. So, while his average annual value is around $14 million per year, his 2022 cap hit is just $3.8 million.
Ward's cap hit does escalate significantly in year two, however; the 49ers can move on should they need to, with only five million guaranteed, although that is highly unlikely.
The two void years and the non-guaranteed third year of Ward's contract indicate a potential extension after the two-year deal, erasing the dead cap hits while keeping a high-caliber cornerback in red and gold throughout the majority of his prime.
When comparing Ward's contract to other cornerbacks on the market, such as the Chargers' J.C. Jackson, the 49ers have flexibility every year should they need to utilize it, while Jackson's contract is a pure five-year contract, which normally isn't San Francisco's persona when it comes to long-term contracts, regardless of the player.
Ward's minimal cap hit in 2022 also provides more relief for the 49ers, while the team isn't on the hook for the massive $40 million signing bonus that Los Angeles dished out to outbid other suitors for Jackson's services.
Overall, the contract is a very good deal for both sides, with adequate flexibility for each party involved, as well as a likely extension in the future when Ward nears his prime.