49ers news: Breaking down Trent Williams’s massive new 3-year contract

The San Francisco 49ers got their final star back into the fold when left tackle Trent Williams agreed to a massive three-year, $82.66 million deal, including $48 million guaranteed at signing on Tuesday.

Williams, 36, had been away from the team the entire offseason because he wanted a reworked deal. His previous contract had three years remaining, but there was no guaranteed money left on it.

Now, with a new contract finalizing, the 49ers will have their star left tackle practice with the team ahead of their Week 1 contest against the New York Jets.

Let’s break down the initial details of Williams’s contract. Here are the known numbers:

Total compensation: 3 years, $82.66 million

Guarantees at signing: $48 million

Signing bonus: $25.69 million

Cash in Year 1: $27.65 million

49ers owner Jed York is spending another massive check, as Williams will take home a $25.69 million signing bonus, which will prorate over at least three years, with room to add void years as well.

Now, one of the big talking points for Williams this offseason was his accrued fines, as the star left tackle missed training camp and the preseason, for which he was fined a total of $5.34 million.

However, it seems the 49ers are essentially paying back those fines, as Williams’s total compensation over three years went from $77.31 million to $82.66 million, with the difference being $5.35 million.

Looking into the first year of his deal, Williams is taking home $27.65 million in cash, which is the most cash for any lineman in Year 1. With his signing bonus being $25.69 million, the left tackle’s additional compensation for that first year is $1.96 million, which could end up being his 2024 salary + bonuses.

That means the left tackle’s 2024 cap hit should significantly decrease, even when factoring in the prorated signing bonus, setting the 49ers to add even more cap space to their already-increasing figure.

Looking at Trent’s guarantees at signing, it seems San Francisco is essentially guaranteeing two years of his deal with the $48 million. He’ll take home $27.65 million in cash the first year and $20.35 million the second year, which figures to be some combination of his salary + bonuses.

It seemed as if the biggest sticking point in negotiations between Williams and the 49ers was guaranteeing that second year. Already being 36 years old, there had to have been a level of worry that the left tackle could ponder retirement after this year, which would leave that Year 2 cap hit as dead money.

But, it seems that Williams has given reassurances that he’ll play past this year, going as far as saying he’d even want to play at age 40 during his presser on Tuesday.

The deal had to be done, however, as Williams had the leverage in this situation, given the 49ers don’t really have any other solution at left tackle. And so, Trent is back in town for the foreseeable future, while San Francisco can now compete at the highest level in 2024 with all of their stars back.