The Alex Smith trade agreement that will send him from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Washington Redskins impacts the quarterback market this offseason. Smith's new contract with Washington, which was part of the trade agreement, will earn him an average of $23.5 million over the next four seasons with over 75-percent of his salary guaranteed.
Smith's new contract, along with any quarterback deal this offseason, impacts the negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo's agent, Don Yee.
According to 49ers general manager John Lynch, those negotiations have briefly paused this week as one of Yee's other quarterback clients, Tom Brady, prepares to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
Last week at the Senior Bowl, Lynch said the 49ers are working hard toward getting Garoppolo signed to a multi-year deal. San Francisco also has the franchise tag at its disposal, which will guarantee that Garoppolo remains with the 49ers for one more season at the cost of about $23.5 million. Of course, a long-term deal makes the most sense for both sides.
On Wednesday morning, Lynch joined KNBR to discuss the Garoppolo contract talks.
"We are, as I said last week, working hard," Lynch said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "These things are complicated. We feel optimistic in the discussions we've had with Jimmy's side. I'm not going to talk play-by-play, as I've said, as we agreed with Don Yee and Jimmy's camp that we weren't going to give play-by-play on this. We were going to let it happen. But I can tell you we've had productive conversations and remain very optimistic.
"I think the most important thing in a deal like this is that, as I said, we want Jimmy very much to be our franchise quarterback for years to come and Jimmy wants that very much as well. To me, that makes too much sense not to happen, and so we're going to continue working.
"Don Yee's got another quarterback (Tom Brady) in this game (Super Bowl LII). He's very focused on this game so we've kind of let this week play out and go back to work and we'll see. That's the best update I can give you, and like I said, we're not going to play this thing out in front of everyone, but we're very hopeful whenever that time is, that we're going to have some really exciting news for everyone."
Lynch was asked if other quarterback contracts this offseason, like Smith's, will have an impact on the negotiation process between the 49ers and Garoppolo's representation. Aaron Rogers is expected to receive a new contract from the Green Bay Packers while another team could make Kirk Cousins the highest paid player in NFL history.
"I think our discussions and our work with Jimmy is going to be unique to us," Lynch said. "Obviously, there's a market, and all those things are taken into account, but our situation is going to be unique. Like I said, I stand by my earlier comments that we're hopeful and confident but also patient and working through this."
You can listen to the entire interview with Lynch below.
