© Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The NFLPA has released its public salary cap report as of April 1, including effective salary cap numbers of all 32 NFL teams. The 49ers have 74 players signed to the current roster, but the cap figure, according to NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco, does not include the signings of offensive lineman Ben Garland (one year, $2.25 million), offensive lineman Tom Compton (one year, $3 million – could be heavily incentivized) and wide receiver Travis Benjamin (one year, likely minimum deal).
Garland’s move has been made official on the NFL’s transaction wire, while the other two have not.
As the numbers stand now, it shows the 49ers with $15,741,039 in cap space. It also does not appear to factor in the release of Mike Person ($2.5 million salary, clears about $1.75 million in cap space), which is not a move that has been made official on the NFL’s transaction wire. That move likely will not become official until Compton passes a physical and officially signs with the 49ers.
Assuming a minimum deal for Benjamin at $910k, Garland’s $2.25 million is not incentivized, and Compton’s $3 million is more like $1.75 million in salary plus $1.25 million in potential incentives, the 49ers have $14.31 million in cap space.
But that’s also an innacurate number, because it doesn’t factor in the incoming draft class, which will cost the 49ers about $3.39 million in space. The 49ers’ real effective number is probably more in the $10-11 million range, as previously projected here, with those previously mentioned figures yielding a projection of $10.94 million.
That is, however, before signing George Kittle to a long-term extension, which will see his $2.21 million salary spike significantly. That should be expected to jump anywhere from $8 million to $12 million in year one of an extension. Austin Hooper signed a four-year, $42 million deal with the Browns this offseason as the NFL’s highest-paid tight end and Kittle will undoubtedly supercede that, potentially in the $14 million per year range.
There are a number of options for the 49ers to save cap space, as previously laid out here, though per a source, as of March 19, the 49ers had not engaged Juszczyk in contract extension talks:
“That’s without cutting or trading Tevin Coleman (would save about $4.12 million) or Marquise Goodwin (would create about $2.91 million), trading Solomon Thomas (would create about $3.64 million), or extending Kyle Juszczyk (unclear, but probably a savings around $3-plus million), or cutting Mark Nzeocha (would save about $800k).”