The quarterback market has changed since the 49ers signed Garoppolo in February to a then-NFL-record five-year deal worth up to $137.5 million. That's an average annual salary of $27.5 million. Although, Garoppolo will earn much more than that in 2018.
Since Garoppolo put pen to paper, Kirk Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million fully-guaranteed deal in free agency to join the Minnesota Vikings. That was a slight bump above Garoppolo's annual salary ($28 million average).
Matt Ryan agreed to a five-year deal worth up to $150 million with $100 million guaranteed. That's an average annual salary of $30 million.
Most recently, Aaron Rodgers finally received his long-expected new deal with the Green Bay Packers. The four-year extension is reportedly worth up to $134 million, which averages out to $33.5 million. Rodgers will also reportedly receive a record $57.5 million signing bonus and earn more than $80 million by March, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The three quarterbacks mentioned above have a whole lot more experience than Garoppolo. Still, if the 49ers quarterback continues to perform at a high level and rack up the wins, his five-year deal is going to seem like a bargain. It hasn't even been seven months since Garoppolo signed his then-record deal and he's already the fourth-highest paid player in the league.
While many criticized throwing that much money at a quarterback with just seven starts on his resume, it looks like Lynch and Shanahan made the right call. Had they waited a year, signing Garoppolo could have cost the 49ers significantly more.