Report: 49ers restructure Warner's contract to create salary-cap space
Report: 49ers restructure Warner's contract to create salary-cap space originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers created some salary-cap space by reconstructing the contract of their star linebacker.
San Francisco restructured Fred Warner's contract last week, The Athletic's Matt Barrows reported Monday, citing a source, converting a large portion of his base salary into bonuses.
Warner was set to carry a base salary of $15.3 million in 2024 but will now make a vet minimum of $1.125 million after the 49ers converted $14.2 million into a signing bonus, The Athletic's David Lombardi added, which the team will spread out over the final four years of Warner's deal.
The move will save San Francisco about $10 million against the cap.
49ers converted $14.2m of Fred Warner's 2024 base salary to bonus. He's now making vet min $1.125m. Of note: SF didn't add another void year to Warner's deal, so new bonus prorates over only 4 years thru 2027.
Warner's new 2024 cap hit is $13.8m, saving about $10m of 2024 space— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 12, 2024
Warner is signed with San Francisco through the 2026 season, and he has no guaranteed salary left in his contract.
The 49ers selected the All-Pro linebacker in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and he has been a key ingredient to the defensive dominance the team has flaunted and haunted the league with ever since.
He widely is considered one of the best linebackers in the NFL, having been named a Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro in three of the last four years. He has missed just one game in his six-year career, and the 49ers have gone to the Super Bowl twice and NFC title game four times during his tenure with the team.
In six seasons, Warner has recorded 766 tackles, including 31 for a loss, 28 quarterback hits, nine sacks, 46 passes defensed, eight interceptions, a touchdown, and 11 forced fumbles in 98 starts. Last season, Warner registered 132 tackles, including six for a loss, five quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks, 11 passes defensed, a career-high four interceptions, and four forced fumbles in 17 regular-season starts.
His new pay structure could indicate a big signing as the negotiation period for impending free agents began this week, with signings allowed Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT. But the 49ers might have to consider restructuring other contracts if a big-name signing is on their radar.
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