In the six-season stretch from 2019 to 2024, the San Francisco 49ers made four appearances in the NFC Championship game and twice went to the Super Bowl.
During this run, the Niners spent their offseasons doing basically whatever it took from a financial standpoint to bring a sixth Lombardi Trophy to the Bay, using credit card-style spending to lock in big-time players to big-money deals no matter how those contracts impacted the salary cap down the road.
Sadly for San Francisco, things didn't work out, as the franchise is still stuck on five championships.
This current offseason has obviously gone much differently, as the 49ers effectively had no choice but to let several key contributors walk out the door in free agency, a group that included offensive guard Aaron Banks (Packers), cornerback Charvarius Ward (Colts), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (Vikings), safety Talanoa Hufanga (Broncos), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Broncos), and linebacker Leonard Floyd (Falcons), among others.
Given the way the Niners deferred money on some of these contracts, some of these departures came with considerable dead-money cap hits. But none of those, of course, compare to what the franchise took on by trading Deebo Samuel, who will cost San Francisco $34,106,705 in dead money in 2025.
Just that amount alone would put the Niners ahead of 19 NFL teams in terms of dead money for the upcoming campaign. But Samuel obviously isn't the only former player still collecting checks from the 49ers, who, according to Over The Cap, have $93,591,013 in dead money on the books, which is the highest figure in the league by nearly $11 million.
All that said, however, as training camp approaches, the 49ers still have the second-highest amount of available cap space at $45,697,549, trailing only the New England Patriots, who lead the way with $60,608,230.
49ers need to be very careful in how they approach the salary cap
One of the big reasons San Francisco sits in that second spot is that the team didn't shell out much money in free agency. And yes, Brock Purdy secured his lucrative extension, but the significant money and cap hits from his five-year, $265 million deal don't take effect until next year.
But that doesn't mean the Niners can go on an all-out spending spree to fill the remaining holes on the roster for this season, as they're going to be in a bind for the next several seasons.
As it stands now, with all the contracts and dead money the team has on the books, the 49ers only have $8,491,953 in cap space in 2026, which ranks 20th in the NFL, and $14,127,791 in 2027, which ranks dead last.
Yes, maneuvering will be done and deals will be restructured and such to create more room. And the overall cap number will undoubtedly continue to rise. Nevertheless, this is a tricky time for the 49ers, whose championship window may close sooner than expected if they're not careful.
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