From draft capital to cap space, preparing you for the 49ers offseason
With the 49ers offseason in full swing, the organization can retool or revamp the roster for another deep run into January. With a fourth-place schedule, a sizeable portion of their cap space available, and another draft class, the team could be right back in the conversation at the top of the NFC.
But just how much ammo do the 49ers have to return the team to the NFC playoffs?
Pro Football Focus released an article detailing the assets each NFL team has in the offseason. The assets consist of draft capital, cap space, and a combination.
Draft Capital
The draft capital portion is defined by the combined value of all their draft picks, as measured by a draft value chart. PFF uses their PFF draft value chart, which estimates the value of a draft pick by projecting the PFF WAR a player drafted at that pick generates on average during his first four years in the league (the rookie contract).
The 49ers rank ninth in the NFL, but the teams in the top ten aren’t in the position of the 49ers. Cleveland, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, New England, the Giants, Tennessee, New Orleans, and Carolina aren’t in a position to jump into the discussion for their conference hierarchy. For example, from Cincinnati, who ranks 20th, 11 of the last 12 teams are playoff teams in 2024 with Atlanta as the lone exception.
The lone question mark is the number of draft picks the 49ers will have with the compensatory pick formula, which they have used in past years. The team may have over ten picks in the 2025 draft.
Cap Space
PFF cites OverTheCap.com and measures each team’s cap space and restructure potential.
Effective cap space: A team’s available cap space minus the cap its rookie class will cost.
Restructure potential: In addition to using their effective cap space, teams can increase their cap space without changing their roster by restructuring existing contracts. They do this by converting a player’s 2025 base salary or roster bonus into a signing bonus that is prorated over multiple years. This saves cap space for the current year but pushes all the saved cap into the future.
So, restructure potential counts how much cap a team could save for 2025 if they:
1. Restructure all their existing contracts by the maximum amount, i.e., prorate every dollar of base salary up to the minimum base salary over the existing future years of all their contracts. These are called simple restructures.
2. Use more restructures to save 2025 cap. For example, adding additional void years to existing contracts or extending existing contracts with new money to save base salary in 2025. These are called maximum restructures.
Currently, the 49ers are sitting with 40+ million dollars in cap space and close to a 70 rating for restructuring potential. The potential for more cap space comes in the form of a potential post-June 1 cut of Javon Hargrave, a Brock Purdy extension, which will open up more cap space in the first year of the deal, and restructured contracts of veterans.
San Francisco sits tenth in the NFL with their cap situation.
The Combined Ranking
The 49ers are in prime position to reload and get right back into the thick of winning the NFC as they sit at number seven in the NFL with their draft capital, cap space, and restructure potential. New England, Las Vegas, Chicago, Tennessee, the Jets, and the Giants are the six teams ahead of the 49ers.
PFF pointed out the 49ers and Cardinals as teams with solid foundations and room to improve.
Teams starting from a solid foundation with room to improve include the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers. Midseason, it appeared these two teams would battle for the NFC West crown. However, the 49ers faltered down the stretch due to injuries, while the Cardinals lost all three of their second-half matchups against the Rams and Seahawks, derailing their division title aspirations.
This offseason is exciting for the 49ers with the chance to get right into the process, a new defensive and special teams coordinator, another season of development from their rookies, and another draft class beginning with the number 11 pick in the first round.