How McCaffrey's contract will impact 49ers' salary cap originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The 49ers added a flashy, new offensive weapon on Thursday night and it certainly is going to cost them.
In acquiring superstar running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers, the 49ers not only will surrender four draft picks, which includes second, third and fourth-round picks in 2023 plus a fifth-rounder in 2024 but also will be strapped with another hefty contract.
McCaffrey signed a four-year, $64 million contract with Carolina in April of 2020, with cap hits of $8.7 million in 2022, $19.5 million in 2023, $19.5 million 2024 and $15.4 million in 2025. However, as FOX Sports 1's Nick Wright pointed out on Twitter, McCaffrey's signing bonus with Carolina does not carry over to the 49ers, which makes the contract more manageable for San Francisco.
Fortunately for the 49ers, who have just under $5 million in cap space, San Francisco will owe McCaffrey just $690,000 for the remainder of the 2022 season.
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After signing All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel to a lucrative contract extension in the offseason, the 49ers still will look to lock up defensive end Nick Bosa, which certainly will be made more difficult with McCaffrey's contract on the books for the next few seasons.
Not to mention the question mark at the quarterback position and whether or not 2023 free agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has a future with the team as former first-round pick Trey Lance works his way back from a broken ankle.
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What is clear, is that the 49ers are all-in on this season. There will be financial obstacles to overcome down the road, but they will cross that bridge when they get there.
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