Christian McCaffrey, a costly running back with more than three years left on his contract, was acquired by the 49ers. With two seasons remaining on his contract that the Panthers negotiated, McCaffrey entered the 2024 offseason as a very valuable player for his second NFL franchise.
A new deal between Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers has been agreed upon, tying the running back champion to the team through 2025. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, McCaffrey will get a $38 million, two-year contract deal from the 49ers. As a result, through 2027, the dual-threat dynamo will be tied to San Francisco.
This is a positive development for the running back market, which Christian McCaffrey had led since the signing of his Carolina contract in April 2020. Apart from surpassing his $16MM annual salary, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that the eighth-year veteran will receive a $24MM guarantee as part of this 49ers contract. Over the first two years of the agreement, McCaffrey will also get an additional $8MM in compensation. There were no assurances left on McCaffrey’s prior deal.
Christian McCaffrey, who turns 28 later this week, had expressed his desire for a new contract on an internal basis, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic. The former number-ten pick has avoided San Francisco OTAs. Although there was no reason to be concerned about this relationship before this week’s minicamp, the 49ers will take a quick action on a player who has earned them the October 2022 pickup that needed to be filled with second, third, fourth, and fifth round draft picks.
The agreement on Tuesday also appears to remove CMC’s $14.1MM 2024 ceiling. The 49ers had already added two empty years to McCaffrey’s previous deal through a reorganization. That front will also benefit from this extension. It is a little unexpected to see a running back crack the $19MM-AAV range considering the volatility of the running back market over the last two offseasons. There isn’t another running back with a contract worth over $15MM annually.
A couple expensive RB contracts were eliminated from consideration during the 2023 offseason. Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook were dismissed by the Cowboys and Vikings, respectively, and Joe Mixon and Aaron Jones received pay cuts from the Bengals and Packers. The three tagged running backs (Tony Pollard, Josh Jacobs, and Saquon Barkley) did not receive extensions before the 2023 franchise tag deadline. There was a Jonathan Taylor-Colts standoff after McCaffrey expressed reservations about how teams were valuing the position. There has been some movement in the market after Taylor’s fight with his squad. McCaffrey’s new contract comes after Taylor’s $14 million annual extension and Barkley’s $37.5 million, three-year Eagles contract.
To spread out McCaffrey’s cap charges, San Francisco has agreed to a $14.29MM signing bonus. Florio also notes that a 2025 option bonus is set in place. At signing, the organization will guarantee $8.5 million of McCaffrey’s $14.25 million option bonus. After 2025, the 49ers should still have some freedom after their $24MM promise. Florio reports that McCaffrey’s contract includes a non-guaranteed $10.55 million option bonus in addition to a non-guaranteed $1.3 million base salary for 2026. Additionally, CMC’s 2027 base of $16.55MM is not guaranteed.
Because Christian McCaffrey’s contract boosts the positional AAV ceiling for a player who is already committed to at least two more seasons, it is reminiscent of the Cardinals’ 2020 DeAndre Hopkins agreement. Hopkins signed an agreement for $27.25 million per year, tying him to the Cardinals for a total of five seasons. The former Arizona wide receiver signed the contract and received the guaranteed money, but the Cardinals terminated him in 2023, thus he was not a part of the team during the extension years. If the 49ers decide to move on, signing bonus prorations will result in some dead money, but this deal at least guarantees McCaffrey security through 2025.
After failing to sign Jerick McKinnon in 2018, the 49ers turned to inexpensive running backs, such as Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, and Jeff Wilson, until they were given the chance to sign Christian McCaffrey by the 2022 deadline. The 49ers took a chance on a guy who had missed a large portion of the 2020 and ’21 seasons due to injuries by outbidding the Rams for CMC. With two Pro Bowl appearances, 2,023 scrimmage yards, and 21 touchdowns in a season, McCaffrey has rewarded the 49ers’ faith by claiming the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year title.
Christian McCaffrey missed 23 games in 2020–21 due to injuries to his quadriceps,
hamstring, shoulder, and ankle. Since being traded, he has played in all but one game; last season, he missed only a meaningless Week 18 game. He has contributed significantly to the 49ers’ success in the last two seasons by giving Brock Purdy unparalleled versatility at the running back position. Although the 49ers will have to take into account a Purdy payment, a 2025 Purdy extension would still be in line with this most recent CMC payout. By the time the quarterback’s impressive cap numbers (if a Purdy contract materializes) become public, McCaffrey might already be gone. As Purdy’s rookie contract comes to an end, the 49ers are rewarding their best offensive player for the time being.
With a contract year in 2025, this pact eliminates one offensive cornerstone for the 49ers. In 2025, Purdy, George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel are slated for walk-on seasons; Brandon Aiyuk, however, remains unsigned following his fifth-year option season. The 49ers marked off one task on Tuesday by honoring the best player at a position that is ignored, notwithstanding the ongoing Aiyuk dilemma.
