The 49ers decided on Monday to keep defensive lineman Arik Armstead and to send defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to the Colts.
Buckner will sign a four-year, $84 million deal once the trade becomes official. Armstead already has signed a five-year, $85 million deal to stay put.
Here’s a look inside the Armstead deal:
1. $17.5 million signing bonus.
2. 2020 base salary: $2.5 million, fully guaranteed.
3. $7.5 million option bonus to be exercised at any time before April 1, 2021.
4. 2021 base salary: $6.65 million, fully guaranteed.
5. 2022 base salary: $14.15 million, $11.7 million of which is guaranteed for injury at signing. Of that amount, $5.85 million becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster as of April 1, 2022.
6. 2023 base salary: $15.89 million.
7. 2024 base salary: $17.41 million.
8. Workout bonuses: $100,000 per year, from 2021 through 2024.
9. Per-game roster bonuses: $750,00 per year, from 2021 through 2024.
The also includes a phony 2025 salary that will void if Armstead is on the roster in February 2025.
So the deal has a full guarantee at signing of $34.15 million, with a total injury guarantee of $48.5 million. And despite the stated average of $17 million per year, $750,000 in four of those years are tied to Armstead playing in every game.
That’s typical of contracts negotiated by the 49ers. Per-game roster bonuses, and April 1 guarantee triggers are in nearly every veteran deal. And that’s probably one of the reasons why they kept Armstead and traded Buckner. They apparently negotiated with both, and they traded the one who was driving a harder bargain.
