The 49ers are locking up star players to lucrative contracts days before the start of the 2024 NFL season and are making moves elsewhere to help alleviate the financial burdens.
After signing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a four-year contract extension last week and working toward an agreement with left tackle Trent Williams on a reworked contract, San Francisco and Maliek Collins restructured the defensive tackle's contract, creating $5.432 million in salary cap space, ESPN's Field Yates reported Tuesday morning.
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The 49ers acquired Collins in a trade with the Houston Texans this offseason after parting ways with longtime defensive tackle Arik Armstead, who ended up signing a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Collins originally signed a two-year, $23 million contract with Houston in June of 2023 and according to Spotrac's Michael Ginnitti, the 49ers converted $6.79 million of Collins' $8.47 million contract for 2024 into a signing bonus.
As Ginnitti points out, the 49ers currently have an NFL-best $50.5 million in salary cap space, but that number soon could shrink once Williams signs his reworked contract.
