Some were already calling for San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to bench second-year quarterback Trey Lance in favor of veteran Jimmy Garoppolo ahead of Sunday's home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. The situation drastically changed when Lance suffered a broken right ankle versus Seattle that left him needing season-ending surgery.
Garoppolo was the subject of trade rumors throughout the summer as he was replaced atop the team's depth chart by Lance, but the 30-year-old ultimately agreed to a pay cut via a restructured contract to stay with the 49ers.
As Mike Florio noted for Pro Football Talk, Garoppolo had his base salary for 2022 dropped from $25.62 million to $6.5 million, but he made an extra $350,000 for his efforts against the Seahawks because he played at least 25 percent of the snaps during a win. Garoppolo will earn $250,000 for each game he triggers the playing-time incentive and an extra $100,000 for every contest he wins.
In short, Garoppolo's $6.5 million base salary can become $10.75 million, and he can make an extra $1 million if he guides the 49ers to at least 10 regular-season victories. If San Francisco makes the playoffs under Garoppolo's watch, he can earn $500,000 for taking at least half the snaps in a postseason game. He could then make another $500,000 for taking at least half the snaps in the NFC Championship game, $500,000 for winning that matchup, and $1 million for taking at least half the snaps in Super Bowl LVII.
Garoppolo completed 13-of-21 passes for 154 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions to go along with a rushing score in the 27-7 win over the Seahawks. He'll next start for the 1-1 Niners against the 1-1 Denver Broncos this coming Sunday night.
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