Trey Lance signs rookie contract with 49ers

San Francisco 49ers Off-Season Workout
Getty Images

San Francisco rookie quarterback Trey Lance is in the fold, just as the 49ers are preparing to get on the practice field for the first time.

Lance signed his rookie contract this morning, his agents announced.

According to the NFL’s rookie contract structure, Lance gets a four-year, $34.1 million contract with a $22.2 million signing bonus. The $34.1 million is guaranteed, and the 49ers have the option to pick up a fifth-year option after Lance’s third season.

Lance will compete with incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo to become the 49ers’ starter in Week One. Given that the 49ers traded their first-round picks in 2021, 2022 and 2023 to get the third overall pick and draft Lance, it’s safe to say they expect him to supplant Garoppolo.

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, the second overall pick, is now the only unsigned first-round pick in the NFL.

18 responses to “Trey Lance signs rookie contract with 49ers

  1. Doesn’t Lance deserve a triple-sized contract because SF bought his draft slot at a cost of three #1’s?

  2. Way to go. I disagree with waiting until training camp. Just sign your rookie deal. Should’ve been done in May.

  3. aypeeswhippingstick says:
    July 28, 2021 at 11:27 am
    There’s more pressure on this guy than on Jordan Love.

    ——————————

    For sure.

  4. “$22.2 million signing bonus. The $34.1 million is guaranteed”… And he’s going to ride the pine? I think not. And, just for comparison, let’s take a look at Russell Wilson’s rookie contract (on the 2011 CBA): 4 years, $3 Million, $619,000 guaranteed money. …Because, as they said at the time, “he is short”. So Wilson slid to the 3rd round (granted, the Hawks could have taken him in the 2nd round, but we love Bobby Wagner too). Andrew Luck, RG3, and Ryan Tannehill, and Brandon Weeden were all 1st round picks; all busts. Brock Osweiler, 2nd round pick, also bust. The rest of the QB’s selected that year (Nick Foles, Kirk Cousins, Ryan Lindley, BJ Coleman, and Chandler Harnish) have also been terrible, with the possible exception of Kirk Cousins. Moral of the story? 2012 was an incredibly bad year for QBs (other than Russell Wilson), and it’ll be interesting to see if any of these 2021 rookies actually pan out.

  5. Shanahan has already stated that Garoppolo is the starter, which is great for Lance. He gets to sit back and learn the system from a pro, just like Mahomes did behind Alex Smith in Kansas City.

    Some of the best quarterbacks in NFL history had the luxury of sitting behind a pro for a year or more….and it helped them to succeed. By the time they became the starter, they knew the system inside and out.

    Tom Brady sat behind Drew Bledsoe
    Steve Young sat behind Joe Montana
    Aaron Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre
    Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith

    Before free agency, every team had the luxury of allowing the backup QB to sit behind the starter, learning the system before being thrown into the fire. Those that have the luxury of doing that, like the Niners, are very lucky.

  6. “Those that have the luxury of [letting someone sit behind a pro], like the Niners, are very lucky.” …JimmyG sat behind the greatest of all time – Tom Brady – and now you are waiting for his replacement.

  7. I’m still shocked at how much the Niners gave up to draft him. Chicago and NE may prove to be the winners in the long run for this draft choice.

  8. When not broken, Jimmy G took the Niners to a Super Bowl. Garoppolo is a very good QB. He just has trouble staying healthy.

  9. Lack of football experience and football knowledge greatly increases his chances of becoming a bust rather than a success!

  10. The Patriots will have more draft picks to put players around Jones to help the team succeed. Lance better be better than three players in one.

  11. So will he turn out to be a better pro than Justin Fields? That’s really as much and as little as this all comes down to.

  12. “Lance better be better than three players in one.”

    A top-notch franchise QB is the most important piece of any NFL team. Lace is going to surprise a lot of people when he finally gets to play.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.