The 49ers cut defensive lineman Nick Bosa with a contract that makes him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. The contract is now official, which means it’s time to look at all the details.
It’s a five-year, $170 million extension, with an average of $34 million per year in new money. The total six-year contract will pay $188.9 from signing, for a total six-year average of $31.48 million.
Here are the full details, according to a source with knowledge of the terms:
1. Signing Bonus: $50 million.
2. 2023 base salary: $1.01 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2024 Option Bonus: $15.230 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2024 base salary: $1.125 million, fully guaranteed.
5. Bonus per match for 2024: $500,000 total, fully guaranteed (still must be on match day to earn each bonus).
6. 2025 Compensation: $20.35 million fully guaranteed at signing, $10.050529 million guaranteed against injury at signing. It becomes fully guaranteed on April 1, 2024. (The payment comes in the form of an option bonus – $29.015529 million – and a base salary of $1.17 million.)
7. Roster Bonus per game for 2025: $500,000 total, guaranteed for injuries at signing and fully guaranteed starting April 1, 2024 (still must be on game day to earn).
8. 2026 base salary: $22.68 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed beginning April 1, 2025.
9. Roster Bonus per game for 2026: $500,000 total.
10. 2027 base salary: $32.679 million, of which $769,421 is guaranteed for injuries at signing and fully guaranteed beginning April 1, 2025.
11. Roster Bonus per game for 2027: total $500,000.
12. 2028 base salary: $33.5 million.
13. Roster Bonus per game for 2028: total $500,000.
In total, the deal is fully guaranteed at signing of $88 million, $8 million more than TJ Watt’s deal. By April 1, 2025, $122.5 million will be fully guaranteed. To avoid owing him the full amount of the guarantee, the 49ers would have to release him after two seasons, at a total liability of $88 million.
The total guarantee surpasses his brother Joey, who had the highest total guarantee of any defensive player over the past three years.
Bosa will receive $98.55 million over the first three years. That’s $3.5 more than Bills quarterback Josh Allen over three years, and a whopping $35.5 million more than Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes over three years. It’s $18.55 million more than Steelers linebacker TJ Watt’s first three years, and $3.55 million more than Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s three-year performance.
In addition to the total guarantees of $122.5 million, an additional $7.5 million will be guaranteed against injuries if he wins Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, 2024 and 2025. If the injury guarantee comes into effect, it will become fully guaranteed starting April 1, 2026.
