49ers create cap space with Kittle, Williams contract restructures

49ers create cap space with Kittle, Williams contract restructures originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 49ers created some much-needed salary-cap space after handing out the largest contract in franchise history on Wednesday.

San Francisco agreed to a massive five-year, $170 million contract extension with star defensive end Nick Bosa after the pass rusher's 44-day holdout from training camp and the preseason.

The 49ers then cleared $23.22 million in salary cap space by restructuring tight end George Kittle and left tackle Trent Williams' contracts.

The 49ers converted $10.57 million of Kittle's 2023 base salary into a signing bonus, clearing $8.45 million in cap space while adding one void year. $18.23 million of Williams' 2023 base salary was converted into a signing bonus, which cleared up $14.58 million in cap space while adding one void year.

The 49ers' salary cap for the 2023 NFL season currently sits at $178.77 million with approximately $24.6 million in cap space, which gives the team plenty of room to make an in-season move or two if needed.

Despite having multiple top-of-the-market contracts on its books, San Francisco ranks 20th in active salary for this season, but currently has the seventh-highest salary cap ($257.41 million) in 2024 because of multiple backloaded contracts, even with the cap increasing to $256 million.

San Francisco almost certainly will have a difficult time navigating the salary cap in the years to come, but without a doubt is glad to have the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year under contract for the next five seasons.

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