This week, the San Francisco 49ers restructured the contracts of tight end George Kittle (more) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (more), creating additional salary cap space in 2024. These strategic maneuvers opened up over $16 million in savings this year. Similar contract adjustments were made earlier with linebacker Fred Warner (more) and fullback Kyle Juszczyk (more).
San Francisco made several defensive line additions this week, officially trading for Maliek Collins while signing newcomers Jordan Elliott and Yetur Gross-Matos, and re-signing Kevin Givens.
The 49ers have also agreed to terms with defensive end Leonard Floyd and linebacker De'Vondre Campbell. However, these signings are impending and have yet to impact the team's salary cap calculations.
Additionally, the 49ers are bringing back several other players, including quarterback Brandon Allen (more), linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (more), and guard Jon Feliciano (more). These moves make the team's salary-cap figure fluid, but we can estimate where the team currently stands regarding available spending funds.
According to The Athletic's David Lombardi, current projections place the 49ers at approximately $12 million under the salary cap, closely matching the $11.72 million estimate by the analytics site Spotrac. The impending signings will alter that number, though.
49ers 2024 salary-cap space after George Kittle restructure: ~$12 million*
*But some of SF's new deals, including Leonard Floyd's, must still be accounted for. They'll likely be backloaded.
That's the top-51 space right now. The cavalry is the $18m coming 6/2 (post-Armstead)
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 15, 2024
As Lombardi states, the figure accounts for the 51 highest-paid players on the roster, recognizing that the entire roster won't be required to fit under the salary cap until the 53-man roster cut-downs in August.
By then, the 49ers will have already gained an additional $18 million of salary cap space. The team released Arik Armstead with a June 1 designation to avoid the immediate impact of dead money while allowing the defensive tackle to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
San Francisco's financial maneuvering may not be done. While restructures push debt into future years, the team is actively pursuing a contract extension for star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Additionally, they must prepare for future negotiations, most notably with quarterback Brock Purdy next year. He is expected to assume the top spot on the team's highest-paid players list.
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