Yes, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo slashed his base salary from $25.62 million to $6.5 million when he agreed to stay with the team. But that’s just the beginning, based on his revised deal.
On Sunday, Garoppolo made an extra $350,000. And he’ll make that same amount in every game during which he plays at least 25 percent of the snaps and the 49ers win. The playing-time incentive pays $250,000. Achieving a victory kicks in an extra $100,000.
If he stays healthy for the rest of the season (which is hardly a given), Garoppolo will make at least $3.750 million, in addition to his base salary. He also gets $29,000 for each game in which he’s on the 46-man roster, maxing out at $500,000.
Thus, $6.5 million can become $10.75 million based on taking at least 25 percent of the offensive snaps in each game. And if the 49ers win 10 more games, that’s another $1 million.
That’s before postseason incentives, which include $500,000 if he takes at least half the snaps in a playoff game short of the conference championship, another $500,000 for taking at least half the snaps in the conference title game, $500,000 for winning that game, and $1 million for taking at least half the snaps in the Super Bowl.
Again, he needs to stay healthy. That’s something he hasn’t been able to do in the past. It’s one of the reasons why the 49ers made the move to get Trey Lance, whose injury has opened the door for Garoppolo to keep playing for a team that spent most of the year trying to unload him.