Per Over The Cap, the San Francisco 49ers have reportedly restructured defensive tackle Javon Hargrave’s contract. Two offseasons ago, the 49ers gave Hargrave a four-year, $84 million deal, including $40 million guaranteed.
The 49ers are looking ahead to the potential salary cap hoops they’ll need to jump through in 2025. Hargraves’ base salary dropped from $19.9 million to $2.1 million. What that does is lower his cap number from $28.1 million to $10.3 million. If Hargrave either disappoints or doesn’t look like the same player pre-injury, the 49ers have set the table to release him post-June 1:
The original cost to cut Hargraves would have been either $24.86 million on the cap or $28.105 million during free agency if using the June 1. This will allow the team to designate Hargraves as a post June 1 release, count for just $10.3 million on the cap during free agency and then have it drop to and have his cap number count for $8.6 million in 2025 if Hargraves is still hurt and defer $17.485 million to 2026.
Hargrave’s new base salary of $2.1 million ensures that he qualifies for the maximum injury protection benefit which is allowed by the CBA if Hargrave is still injured once the season is over.
This restructure is similar to Deebo Samuel’s from earlier this year The Niners got creative with Deebo’s contract, which allowed them to release Deebo with a similiar post June 1 cut. It’s a loophole that teams have found, essentially letting them find ways to manage the salary cap in the short term and get out of a player’s contract the following summer.
If the 49ers release Deebo this summer, they’ll eat about $5 million in dead money, but when you have over $55 million in cap space, you can afford to do that for one season because, in 2026, San Francisco would end up saving north of $12 million on Deebo’s contract.
Hargrave is in a similar boat. If released this upcoming summer, at age 32, the Niners would eat around $5 million in dead money but turn around and save $15 million in 2026.
The 49ers are thinking ahead and looking at ways to keep the players around they know can contribute, all while coming up with a strategy to pay Brock Purdy. Don’t be surprised if Purdy’s cap it in the first year of his extension is surprisingly low, then skyrockets in Year 2 once the 49ers get some dead money off the books.