Christian McCaffrey’s contract
Christian McCaffrey’s contract with the Carolina Panthers was a four-year, $64 million deal. But in 2022, he was traded to San Francisco in exchange for the team’s second, third and fourth round picks in 2023 and fifth-round pick in 2024.
His deal was renegotiated in the 2023 season so San Francisco could make salary-cap space to sign each of their nine draft picks. McCaffrey is signed to the 49ers through the 2025 season with scheduled salaries of $11.8 million in 2024 and $12 million in 2025. Two additional “void” years were added to allow for more flexibility on the salary cap.
“It just gives us some room,” 49ers general manager John Lynch told NBC Sport at the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft. “We were pressed right up there when we were to sign our rookies. We wanted to have some flexibility and it made sense. Christian’s going to be here, simple conversion, and we did it, and we’re thankful to Christian for agreeing to do it. Good thing for him. Good thing for us.”
McCaffrey will still get every penny of his scheduled $11.8 million base salary for the 2023 NFL season, only now his pay will come in the form of a $10.72 million signing bonus and a base salary of $1.08 million.
McCaffrey is the number one ranked running back on the 2023/24 season, having generated more than 210 carries for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. Extrapolated over 17 games, CMC’s pace would put him at 377 touches for the season.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he felt the all-star running back’s workload was sustainable. “I mean, we treat him as our starting running back,” the coach responded. “So, I don’t really think of how many touches we want to get somebody in a year, that’s week-to-week and how the game goes. But he gets a lot more extra because he gets thrown to so much in the passing game. I’m happy with how he’s being used. I’m happy with how he’s been playing, and we’ll see how the rest of the year goes.”
When it comes to fantasy football, McCaffrey told MAXIM that it—including his bragging rights as one of the most in-demand players—isn’t really talked about with his fellow players.
“It’s never discussed; I don’t know if I’ve ever had a fantasy football conversation in an NFL locker room. I think the thing with fantasy is especially offensive skill players have mixed emotions about what it’s done for our game,” he said in June 2023. “Obviously we love it because it’s brought so many new viewers into football, but at the same time part of what makes football so great is the team aspect, and certain plays—say if you pick up a blitz that leads to someone throwing a touchdown, that’s a big play that might not go on the fantasy sheet but that’s rewarded in our game. It’s a selfless game.”
He continued: “When it comes to my experience and just my interactions with fans, sometimes that’s all anyone talks about. People are fans of specific people rather than the overall team. You could have a great game on film, but your fantasy owners might hate you. It’s good and bad for the game. But to your question, not a lot of fantasy conversations in the locker room.”
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