Andrew Brandt of The MMQB and The Athletic joined KNBR on Thursday night to share why the deal made so much sense for the 49ers, which he initially thought should have had a deal in place when the traded with the New England Patriots for Garoppolo in late-October took place.
"Now, Don Yee and Jimmy probably said, 'We're not going to do one,' and [the 49ers] took the risk," Brandt said on the "Fitz & Brooks" show regarding a potential earlier deal. "I thought all the leverage shifted to Garoppolo and the agent, which it did. And the question everyone seems to be asking me is: Did they use that leverage? On the surface, all the reports, it sounds like they did. They got the highest average."
"But I thought, as you just said, the Niners did the deal they wanted," Brandt continued. "They front-loaded the cap, which they can do. They'll never use all the cap room they have. It's amazing how much room they have. And it's a two-year deal. It's the Kaepernick deal at higher numbers."
Brandt goes on to say the structure of the deal doesn't necessarily guarantee that Garoppolo will be with the 49ers for the life of the contract. Although, the Niner Faithful hope that he is.
"Maybe he won't," Brandt said. "And if he's not, they don't owe him a dime. So I just think they were able to get their structure. After two years, it's all on the risk of Garoppolo. There's no risk for the Niners, which to me is an amazing story coming out of that negotiation."
Garoppolo will earn $61.2 million over the first two years of his new deal, according to contract details revealed by Adam Schefter of ESPN. At the end of his third year, he will have earned a total of $86.4 million with an additional $51.1 million coming after his final two years of the deal.
You can listen to the entire interview with Brandt below.
More San Francisco 49ers News
-
49ers Notebook: Shanahan updates left guard battle, explains Alfred Collins' extended playing time; Jordan James, Jordan Watkins show their stuff
The preseason came to an end for the San Francisco 49ers with an 18-12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night, meaning there's officially less than two weeks before they kick off the regular season against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia. But first, let's... -
49ers rookie De'Zhaun Stribling explains number change, reveals goal for Australia trip
San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling will play his first regular-season NFL game nearly 7,900 miles from home when the team travels to Melbourne, Australia, to face the Los Angeles Rams on September 10. "What an experience, going to Australia," Stribling... -
Why 49ers' Kyle Shanahan refused to name players who stood out vs. Raiders
A few San Francisco 49ers players made positive impressions on head coach Kyle Shanahan during Thursday night's preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders. However, Shanahan opted to remain tight-lipped about his personnel evaluations, giving reporters little insight into his... -
49ers roster building: Why John Lynch's offensive line approach raises concerns
Now that we are close to the end of training camp and the cutdown is a week away, all general managers will be watching the final games. They know they will have to release players they like and that other GMs will, too. They know they will need depth at certain positions, and...