Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area had the chance to sit down with Kyle Juszczyk at the American Century Championship golf tournament in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where the San Francisco 49ers fullback participated in the annual event. In March, the 49ers agreed to a restructured contract for Juszczyk to create salary cap savings.
Juszczyk admitted that he wasn't expecting the 49ers to approach him about a pay cut. He still felt he was playing at a high level. The fullback was recently named to his eighth Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-Pro honors following his 2023 performance.
"Honestly, it hurt," Juszczyk shared. "When [GM] John [Lynch] came to me and asked, I wasn't necessarily expecting it, and I think it's natural for anybody that it kind of hurts your ego. It hurts your heart a little bit. I do understand that it's a business, but I do feel like I'm as valuable as what I was expected to get paid."
Juszczyk was slated to earn $5.75 million in base salary this year, with a cap hit of $7.6 million. His base salary was reduced to $1.21 million, while his cap hit fell to $3.6 million.
"All that said, there definitely was a process that we had to go through," Juszczyk continued, "and I had to come to terms with it and that sort of thing. At the end of the day, though, I really, truly, I wanted to be a Niner. This is where I wanted to be. I absolutely love it here.
"I still love John and [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan], still have great relationships with them. I think this is the best team in the league, and I think we have the best chance to win a Super Bowl. So, this is where I want to be. This is where my roots [are]. I have a home here, so we got it done, and I'm back with the Niners, and so I am happy. There's no hard feelings."
Despite the pay cut, Juszczyk remains the highest-paid fullback in the NFL, averaging nearly half a million dollars more than the next-highest-paid fullback, according to OverTheCap.com.
"Quite honestly, that was important to me," Juszczyk admitted. "That was something that went into the negotiations that, all right, we can figure this out and take a cut, but I still need to be the highest-paid. No knocks on other fullbacks in the league, but I'm the best fullback in the league, and I feel that way. I genuinely believe that, and I think other people tell you that.
"And so, I thought it was important that my pay reflected that. So I am happy that I am still the highest-paid, and I felt I deserved that."