49ers news: Deebo Samuel’s base salary drops nearly $20 million after restructure

The San Francisco 49ers reportedly restructured Deebo Samuel’s contract earlier this week to save north of $16 million in cap space for 2024. Over the Cap has the updated details, so let’s go through those.

Deebo’s initial cap hit in 2024 was set to be $28.63 million. That number was more than halved, as it’s now $12.26 million. As we guessed, Samuel’s salary was converted into a signing bonus. It’s a creative workaround to manipulate the salary cap in the present year. By doing this, the 49ers saw Samuel’s base salary plummet from just under $21 million to $1.125 million.

Another reason it made sense to move money around on Samuel’s contract was that the guaranteed money on his contract was all paid out. The new base salary of $1.125 million was the last bit of guaranteed money on his deal. Technically, there’s one more year left; then, after 2025, his contract voids, despite four additional “ghost” years, which helped spread his signing bonus out and lower Deebo’s cap number.

So, in 2024, Deebo’s base salary is $1.25 million, with an $8.9 million signing bonus, and tack on a prorated option bonus of $1.84 million. Samuel also receives $750,000 per game for a roster bonus and $200,000 for offseason workouts. Samuel’s cap number in 2024 is now $12.23 million, which is down from the original number of $28.63 million.

Deebo could also receive a $500,000 bonus if he surpasses 380 rushing yards and has more than three rushing touchdowns. This is a “NLTBE,” or not likely to be earned incentive, which does not count against the 2024 salary cap, and will be charged to the 2025 cap.

In 2025, Samuel’s base salary is $1.17 million, with an identical signing bonus, prorated option bonus, per-game roster bonus, and workout bonus. His base salary in ‘25 dropped from $16.6 million to $1.17 million, while the cap hit fell from $24.2 million to $15.96 million.

Thanks to the benefit of adding ghost years onto the deal, the 49ers were able to spread out $17.1 million of his signing and a little over $16 million of the rest of his prorated option bonus from 2026 through 2029.