Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports


Where does Antoine Bethea’s contract rank among safeties?

Jul 8, 2016 at 8:16 AM--


Advanced statistics site Pro Football Focus ranked the five worst safety contracts on Friday, which lists the five most overpaid players at that position. San Francisco 49ers safety Antoine Bethea came in as the third worst in the league.

One of the factors in Pro Football Focus' list was length of contract. Bethea only has two years remaining on his contract and averaged nearly $3.9 million during the first two years. Over the next two seasons, that number increased to over $6.5 million per year.

"Antoine Bethea has enjoyed a productive 10 seasons in the NFL, but he might be on the downside of his career," said John Breitenbach of Pro Football Focus. "He managed to play only seven games in 2015 before going down with injury. Prior to injury, Bethea was just the 72nd-highest-graded safety, primarily due to a season coverage grade of 46.1. The former Colt can still hold his own in the box, but lacks the movement skills to track receivers in space. He gave up three touchdowns on just 12 receptions, ultimately allowing a league-worst 152.6 QB rating."

RELATED Where does NaVorro Bowman's contract rank among linebackers?

While he did have a 46.1 coverage grade according to Pro Football Focus, he also had a higher 82.5 run-defense grade and an 82.4 run-defense grade. An overall 60.2 grade left Bethea tied with the New York Giants' Brandon Meriweather as the 72nd overall safety according to the site. By comparison, teammate Eric Reid ranked 36th while Jaquiski Tartt ranked 80th.

We reached out via Twitter to Pro Football Focus analyst and 49ers media correspondent Jeff Deeney to get his thoughts on the ranking. He had the following to say:



Lastly, the site factored in the season in which the team can cut the player and have more cap savings than dead money. For Bethea, that technically would have been this year. However, Pro Football Focus lists it as next year since deadlines have passed and his dead money would drop from a $2.5 million hit in 2016 to a $1.25 million hit in 2017. Much of this is irrelevant for the 49ers who, as Deeney explained, have over $49 million in cap room. The team can comfortably absorb these back-loaded contracts, but that doesn't make the contracts themselves have any more value when compared across the league.

RELATED Where does Ian Willams' contract rank among interior defenders?

"Beathea's back-loaded contract was reasonable at the time, but looks generous at this point," explained Breitenbach. Bethea's contract ranks as the sixth highest among the team in both cap hit and base salary. His cap hit is fifth among all strong safeties in the NFL and 12th among all safeties.

In 2015, Bethea was in on 274 pass snaps and 174 run snaps. He compiled 32 tackles, a sack, and two passes defended over the seven games he was healthy last season.

Antoine Bethea's contract at a glance
Signed through: 2017
Average remaining base salary per year: $4.88 million
Average remaining cap hit per year: $6.51 million
2016 base salary: $4.5 million
2017 base salary: $5.25 million
2016 cap hit: $6.03 million
2017 cap hit: $7 million

* Cap numbers from Spotrac.com



LISTEN

Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News



Three 49ers rank in NFL's top 25 performance-based payouts

By David Bonilla
Mar 17

Three San Francisco 49ers players are receiving a nice little bonus for their on-field efforts during the 2022 NFL season. Safeties Tashaun Gipson and Talanoa Hufanga, and center Jake Brendel are among the NFL's top 25 performance-based pay distributions for this past season. The NFL Communications staff released the list on Friday morning. Gipson will receive a $708,106 bonus. The safety recently re-signed with the 49ers on a one-year deal. Hufanga will receive $703,926, and Brendel earns $643,691. NFL players will receive $336 million in performance-based pay. The performance-based pay program is a collectively bargained benefit that compensates all players based on their playing time and salary levels. The program was first implemented as part of the 2002



49ers restructure Fred Warner's contract, create $9.5 million in salary cap space

By David Bonilla
Mar 14

The San Francisco 49ers made another move to add salary-cap space. On the same day the team restructured cornerback Charvarius Ward's deal, it restructured linebacker Fred Warner's. ESPN's Field Yates was the first to report the news. The move creates $9.5 million in salary cap space for the Bay Area team. Paired with Ward's restructuring, the 49ers created nearly $20 million of additional cap space. The 49ers restructured the contract of LB Fred Warner, creating $9.5M in cap space, per source.More



Details emerge on DE Clelin Ferrell's $2.5 million contract with 49ers

By David Bonilla
Mar 16

On Wednesday, the San Francisco 49ers agreed to terms on a one-year deal with former Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Clelin Ferrell. Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 provided the details of the contract. Ferrell's one-year deal is worth up to $2.5 million, with $1.82 million guaranteed and a $660,000 signing bonus. He will earn a $1.16 million base salary and a $40,000 per game active roster bonus. Clelin Ferrell #49ers one



DE Charles Omenihu signing 2-year deal with Chiefs

By David Bonilla
Mar 14

According to Jordan Schultz of The Score, the Kansas City Chiefs are signing former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Charles Omenihu to a two-year deal worth up to $20 million. Omenihu is an unrestricted free agent. Breaking: FA DT Charles Omenihu is signing a two-year, $20M max deal with the #Chiefs, sources tell @theScore. He's coming off his best season, tallying 16 quarterback hits and 28 initial pressures with


Featured

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone