On the surface, the $21 million deal given by the 49ers to a fullback raises plenty of eyebrows. The details of the Kyle Juszczyk contract show a deal that, while still impressive for a largely-overlooked position in the NFL, is essentially a year-to-year proposition.
The contract has a $5 million signing bonus and a $2 million fully-guaranteed base salary in year one. The 2018 salary of $2.75 million is guaranteed for injury only at the time of signing; the full guarantee doesn’t kick in until April 1. (The 49ers routinely delay the so-called “springboard” until April 1, giving them maximum time to decide whether to keep or to cut/trade the player.)
The contract also has non-guaranteed base salaries of $4.2 million in 2019 and $5.05 million in 2020, workout bonuses each year of $100,000, and per-game roster bonuses of $25,000 for each of the 64 regular-season games he’s due to play.
And so it’s really a one-year deal worth up to $7.5 million, with a team-held option for each of the next three years. That’s still a great deal for a fullback, but the real guarantee is roughly one third of the much-hyped $21 million contract.