Tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel alone are slated to consume about $60.2 million of the San Francisco 49ers' salary cap this year, a significant chunk for a team that is gearing up to pay its quarterback, Brock Purdy, top dollar next year. Still, according to OverTheCap.com, the 49ers have a comfortable $32.7 million of salary cap space, the sixth-largest surplus in the NFL.
Let's take a look at the 10 players on the roster with the largest cap hits in 2024, per OverTheCap.com:
- OT Trent Williams: $31.57 million
- WR Deebo Samuel: $28.63 million
- CB Charvarius Ward: $18.4 million
- DE Nick Bosa: $14.67 million
- WR Brandon Aiyuk: $14.12 million
- LB Fred Warner: $12.65 million
- TE George Kittle: $12.2 million
- LB Dre Greenlaw: $9.6 million
- DT Javon Hargrave: $9.27 million
- DT Maliek Collins: $8.47 million
It's worth noting that one other player would fall on this list, but he is no longer on the team. That would be defensive tackle Arik Armstead, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars following his offseason release.
Armstead's dead money is approximately $10.31 million in 2024 and will increase to $15.55 million in 2025. His cap hit would place him in the No. 8 spot on the list above.
Even quarterback Trey Lance is still on the 49ers' books. His dead money counts $5.54 million against this year's salary cap, which means he is taking up the 13th-most cap space for the 49ers if you include Armstead.
There have been rumors that Williams might eventually want a new deal. Of course, that depends on how long the soon-to-be 36-year-old plans to continue playing. Williams is signed through 2026.
"I haven't thought about the end, so I know I'm definitely in for the next couple of years," Williams said in February.
The 49ers could save money in the long run by extending or restructuring Williams' current deal, so the idea is plausible. It's just a matter of how long the offensive lineman continues to play.
Samuel might be a different story. Assuming the 49ers can agree on a contract extension with wide receiver Aiyuk, it seems unlikely the team will want to carry two wideouts making top-tier money. That may make Samuel expendable, resulting in the versatile player being traded next offseason.
The 49ers fielded calls from teams interested in Aiyuk and Samuel before and during the draft. However, the offers needed to be more enticing to consider trading one of their receivers, especially since the team was well-situated to carry both players on the roster heading into the 2024 season.
"Yeah, I heard it," Samuel said of the trade rumors around draft time. "Had a conversation with my agent about it. They was going back and forth with whoever it was. It was a thing at first, but we done moved past it."
With Purdy poised to become the 49ers' highest-paid player and one of the NFL's wealthiest players next year, the luxury of two high-priced receivers may no longer be financially responsible.
Ward is entering the final year of his deal and will likely look for a big payday next offseason.
"Yeah, I'd like to stick around," Ward recently said. "I feel like it's a good team. They love me here. I love it here. I love all the coaches, love my teammates, but I just let my agent handle it. That's the business side of things. I'll just do my job, go out there and ball, put the pressure on them. Hopefully, they give me a bag.
"If they don't, I know it won't be like any bad blood between me and them. It's just like it'll be a business decision, but I'm pretty sure they'd like to have me, and I'd like to stay here, for sure."
