The contract impasse between Trent Williams and the 49ers has come to an end. Monday has brought about an agreement on another new accord for the future Hall of Famer.
Williams has worked out a two-year, $50MM deal, per an announcement from his agency. The pact contains $37MM fully guaranteed; that figure includes a $22MM signing bonus. After questions loomed about his future, Williams is now in position to continue his San Francisco career through at least 2027.
The guarantee figures on this pact are nearly identical to the ones included in the 49ers’ most recent offer. It thus comes as little surprise an agreement has been reached, and the left tackle spot is once again secured for the team ahead of this week’s draft. Williams was already on the books for next year, but he was scheduled to carry an untenable cap charge of $46.34MM in 2026 in the absence of a new deal. This new deal will lower his cap hit for the immediate future while offering a fresh round of guarantees.
As of March, a gap existed between team and player with respect to a new contract agreement being reached. That helped fuel speculation about a potential trade, with San Francisco reported to be open to a swap at one point. The Chiefs loomed as a landing spot in such a scenario, but the 49ers remained optimistic an agreement on a new contract would ultimately be reached. Negotiations in the days leading up to the draft have indeed taken a major piece of offseason business off the team’s to-do list.
Williams has been in place with the 49ers since arriving via trade in 2020. The 12-time Pro Bowler has been a mainstay up front over that span, collecting a total of four first- or second-team All-Pro nods in San Francisco. Williams inked a six-year deal worth just over $138MM in 2020, then agreed to a three-year extension in 2024. Retirement questions have become increasingly common for the veteran, who will be 38 by the start of next season. Given today’s news, though, Williams will be expected to remain in the fold for at least two more years.
A consistent presence throughout his 49ers tenure, Williams has ranked between first and seventh among tackles every year in terms of PFF grade since arriving in the Bay Area. Remaining one of the game’s best deep into his career will be key for the team’s offensive line, a unit which has faced a number of concerns at positions other than left tackle over the years. Williams is still one of the nine offensive tackles around the NFL attached to an average annual value of $25MM or more, and this latest pact will take him past $250MM in career earnings.
That figure is comfortably the highest in league history for non-quarterbacks. Williams has managed to secure another notable payday in time for offseason workouts later this spring, while the 49ers will not need to find his immediate replacement in the draft. Continued high-end play on the blindside will be expected for the short-term future as San Francisco looks to make further postseason runs over that span.
Awesome! Trent is extremely talented and important to the 49ers… Good for him 😊
The Chiefs were never a landing spot. Stop it with that crap. If the Niners couldn’t handle the cap hit, KC sure as heck weren’t going to be able to do it. I’m tired every player that gets released or talked about wanting out is to go sign a super team friendly deal just to play at KC.