Navigating the 2024 NFL Salary Cap: 49ers
The Niners have Super Bowl hopes this season but will have a little work to do to become cap compliant in 2024.
The San Francisco 49ers look the part of a Super Bowl contender. While they have had a three-game losing streak that raised questions, they have since won three straight and those questions seem to have faded.
Some may argue that Brock Purdy isn't the quarterback to build around but he looks like a good fit for Kyle Shanahan's system and might be one of those QBs who gets better over time.
The Niners, of course, made a blockbuster trade up the 2021 NFL Draft board, which allowed them to select Trey Lance at No. 3 overall. Since that time, the Niners have traded Lance to the Cowboys and are rolling with Purdy -- the Mr. Irrelevant pick of the 2022 draft -- as their starter.
There will be some adjustments the Niners will have to make to their salary cap situation in 2024, even with Purdy still on a cheap contract. They are projected to be about $7M over the cap once they get 51 players under contract (they currently have 45).
Two things should be noted about the Niners. First, they don't have a lot of work to do to become cap compliant. Second, if they do win a Super Bowl, it may make more sense to do more restructures to keep everyone together for one more year -- so long as they don't push too much down the road before it becomes time to consider an extension for Purdy.
Let's look at a few things that the Niners can do to become cap compliant next season.
Figure out what to do with LB Dre Greenlaw: The Niners gave Greenlaw a two-year extension back in 2022. He's been solid but not great and will be due $8.1M in base salary for 2024. A renegotiation might be possible or the Niners could simply cut him. A straight cut would save $6.8M in cap space. If the Niners do win the Super Bowl, though, it would be better to keep him and find other ways to make things work.
Restructure the contract for LB Fred Warner: Among the players with high cap numbers for 2024, Warner does have an option for 2024 that the Niners must exercise to avoid his contract voiding after 2024. Regardless of whether or not the Niners win the Super Bowl, they should exercise the option because Warner continues to play at a high level. Once that's done, the Niners could restructure his base salary of $15.3M to create cap room.
Restructure the contract for TE George Kittle and add another void year: Kittle has two years remaining on his contract and remains a focal part of the offense. The Niners should be safe to restructure his $13.4M base salary and add another void year to spread out the cap hit.
Leave other contracts alone: Even if the Niners win the Super Bowl, they would be advised not to restructure too many contracts. Doing that with Warner and Kittle makes sense but doing it with somebody like Arik Armstead makes less sense, given that he enters the final year of his deal. The same is true for Trent Williams, who will be 36 years old and the Niners will need to find his replacement, likely drafting someone in 2024 to groom behind him. If the Niners win the Super Bowl, they could consider restructuring Deebo Samuel's contract, but otherwise, I'd lean toward leaving his deal alone.
Next week, we'll look at the Denver Broncos.