Insider Report: 49ers Request Kyle Juszczyk for a Pay Cut as Salary Cap Space Cause Problems for the San Francisco Franchise

After losing the Super Bowl LVIII, the 49ers are hell-bent on doing everything in their power to win a Lombardi. Even though the cap space has increased by $30 million this year, the Niners still feel the need to widen the space to acquire more talent. Perhaps, that’s why they want to renegotiate their deal with Kyle Juszczyk.

Pro Football Network now come up with some news about the 49ers fullback. It would seem like the Niners are at a crossroads with Kyle Juszczyk and there is no solution to be found for their situation yet. George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk have been the longest-tenured players since 2017, but that can change in a matter of days.

According to PFN, the Niners want their fullback to take a pay cut. “The team has approached fullback Kyle Juszczyk, an eight-time Pro Bowl (2016-2023) selection and first-team All-Pro last season, for a salary reduction for the 2024 season,” a league source said. The parties haven’t reached a conclusion and the “situation remains up in the air going forward.” Kyle Juszczyk is operating on a $5.75 million base salary, but it is not guaranteed because of what the Niners are asking him to do.

When he moved from the Ravens, the FB signed a 4-year $21 million deal with the Niners. In 2021, the 8x Pro Bowler renewed the deal to a 5-year $27 million extension in March 2021. His $5.75 million unguaranteed base salary also comes with $400k in per-game roster bonuses.

READ MORE- Why Will Pittsburgh Steelers Pay Russell Wilson Just Over $1M For 1-Year Deal?

Per his current deal, Juszczyk will earn a workout bonus of $100,000, while carrying a cap hit of $7,588,750 and a dead cap value of $2,677,500. But it can change before the league year begins on March 13. The urgency of their need to make more cap space became apparent when the Niners let go of Arik Armstead.

The San Francisco 49ers and Arik Armstead part ways

After playing 9 years with the San Fran team, the DE was asked to take a “significant” pay cut. He declined the new proposal and will be going on the free agency route. An interesting thing to note is that Armstead was at the end of his 5-year $85 million.

In 2024, he was set to make a base salary of $17,410,000 and a workout bonus of $100,000, while carrying a cap hit of $28,353,228 and a dead cap value of $26,098,000. But a “significant” restructure would mean that Armstead is losing a lot of money.

Also, the 49ers have multiple highest-paid athletes in their roster, which is causing them to take a hit. Some of the players with the highest Annual Average Value are Nick Bosa ($34M), Christian McCaffrey ($16M), Trent Williams ($23M), Fred Warner ($19M), Deebo Samuel ($23.9M), and Javon Hargrave ($21M).

It may be possible that Kyle Juszczyk ($5.4M AAV) would follow in the same footsteps and decide to leave the San Francisco team soon.

READ MORE- Dallas Cowboys 2024 Draft Picks: Full List of Picks in Each Round, Draft Order, Compensatory Picks & More