The San Francisco 49ers and Colin Kaepernick have agreed to a restructured contract. ESPN‘s Adam Caplan and Adam Schefter were the first to report the news on Wednesday.
From Adam Caplan and me:
49ers and Colin Kaepernick agreed to a restructured deal, wiping out the last four… https://t.co/lnxH5vReo0— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 12, 2016
San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick Agree to Restructured Contract
With the new deal in place, the last four years of Kaepernick’s contract is essentially voided. The restructured contract allows for Kaepernick to opt out of the final four years of the deal before the new league year starts in March 2017. According to Schefter, Kaepernick is playing under a one-year deal with a player option for next season. If Kaepernick decides not to opt-out of his deal, then his salary for 2017 will be for $14.5 million, but won’t be guaranteed.
Under Kaepernick’s old deal, the 49ers would have had a $19.5 million cap hit if San Francisco were to decide to release him after this season, but as reported by ESPN, that’s no longer the case. The 49ers can no longer franchise tag the veteran quarterback either after this season. Also, the 49ers don’t need to worry about Kaepernick getting hurt, as his injury guarantees have been voided as well.
The 49ers drafted Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of the University of Nevada. Kaepernick will be making his season debut against the Buffalo Bills (3-2) on Sunday. He’ll be replacing Blaine Gabbert who’s been starting for San Francisco since week nine of last season when he replaced a struggling Kaepernick.
Through the first five games of the season, Gabbert has led the 49ers to a 1-4 record, while throwing for only 890 yards with five touchdown passes and six interceptions. This has forced first year head coach Chip Kelly to make the switch to Colin Kaepernick. During his first five years with the 49ers, Kaepernick has thrown for over 10,000 yards with 56 touchdowns and only 26 interceptions while completing 60.4% of his passes. He’s also run for 1,832 yards. In 2012, Kaepernick helped lead the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
