According to a person familiar with the transaction, the arrangement is for $19 million each year for two years. The individual talked to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity Tuesday because the specifics of the agreement had not been publicized by the team. Pro Football Talk was the first to report on the new contract.
“Business is business,” McCaffrey stated Tuesday. ”It’s part of the game. Throughout the conversation, both parties were quite courteous of one another. Just delighted and happy that we completed something like this.
McCaffrey attended the opening of San Francisco’s required minicamp after missing the previous two weeks’ optional workouts. He did not participate in on-field practice because the Niners did not want to hurry him into action.
McCaffrey has helped alter San Francisco’s offensive after being acquired in a trade with Carolina midway through the 2022 season. In 27 games for the Niners, McCaffrey has run for 2,205 yards and 20 touchdowns while also catching 119 receptions for 1,028 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Last season, he led the NFL in scrimmage yards with 2,023 and tied for the league record with 21 touchdowns.
McCaffrey, who turns 28 on Friday, will now be under contract until the 2027 season. But coach Kyle Shanahan said he has no reservations about paying a running back like McCaffrey in his 30s, when most backs struggle to produce.
“When you look at Christian as an individual, I’m not going to compare him to anyone else,” Shanahan stated. ”Christian is one of the most gifted persons I have ever known. But if I didn’t mention it, I’d say he’s almost the most overachiever I’ve ever known in terms of his obsessiveness over everything. You lose a step as you get older. “That is not what makes Christian great.”
McCaffrey was already the highest-paid running back in the NFL after signing a $16 million-per-year agreement with Carolina in 2020, and he is now the rare running back to cash in on a third contract, which he thinks will help other backs get paid more as well.
McCaffrey was one of several elite running backs who spoke out last summer, as numerous top players at the position failed to get long-term contracts.
“I think it’s very important,” he remarked. Running back has been underestimated for a long time. I hope this is a step in the right direction.
The Niners were without two players for the required minicamp, with All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams excused for the first day to attend his daughter’s graduation and top receiver Brandon Aiyuk absent due to a contract holdout that may result in fines of more than $100,000.
Shanahan said he isn’t concerned by Aiyuk’s absence and remains optimistic that an agreement can be reached.
“It doesn’t change at all,” he explained. ”You know when guys are in such circumstances, whether they come or not. Some males come to avoid a fee, while others do not.
Aiyuk was an important element of San Francisco’s offense last season, as he developed a strong rapport with quarterback Brock Purdy. Last season, Aiyuk recorded 75 receptions for a career-high 1,375 yards and seven touchdowns, earning second-team All-Pro recognition.
Aiyuk is due to play on a fifth-year option for around $14.1 million this season and is seeking a long-term contract that would pay him much more money based on his career performance thus far. Several great receivers got new contracts this offseason, bringing the market for top wideouts to around $30 million per year.
Fellow receiver Deebo Samuel, who went through a similar contract disagreement two years ago, said he has been in communication with Aiyuk about how to manage what he termed as a ”stressful” scenario.
“At the end of the day, you want to get what you deserve, and it will happen,” Samuel explained. ”But it won’t happen in the time frame you want. It’s simply a waiting game.
Leave a Reply