The Best Contract on the 49ers Payroll

Yesterday I revealed the worst contract on the 49ers. Today let's name their best contract.

Clearly, the player who provides the most value for the 49ers' money is All Pro middle linebacker Fred Warner. He's the leader of the defense, the best middle linebacker in the NFL and he never has missed a game in his three-year career.

And he was a third-round pick, which means he's extremely affordable. The 49ers have paid him just under $3 million for 51 career games (including playoffs). That's about $58,800 per game for the league's premier middle linebacker.

Which makes Warner one of the biggest bargains in the NFL.

But the 49ers drafted him, and he's still on his rookie-wage-scale contract. Meaning the 49ers can thank the collective bargaining agreement for Warner's modest salary. Soon, they'll have to extend his contract and make him the highest-paid linebacker in the league. Or they'll trade him like they traded DeForest Buckner last year. Either way, Warner should be much more expensive soon.

So Warner doesn't count in this exercise.

What is the best contract the 49ers have handed out to a veteran on their roster? Someone they actually had to negotiate with.

The correct answer is Jason Verrett. The 49ers gave him a one-year deal this offseason worth up to $6.5 million if he makes the Pro Bowl. It's incentive-based, and it's not a multi-year deal.

Verrett has missed most of his career due to injuries. Last season, he pulled his hamstring in training camp and missed the first two weeks of the season, but then he returned, played 14 games in a row and performed like a Pro Bowler who's worth more than $10 million per season.

But the 49ers can't count on Verrett to stay healthy, so they were smart not to give him a multi-year deal.

A below-market, one-year, incentive-based deal for a cornerback who's elite when healthy is terrific value.