The San Francisco 49ers contradicted the words of general manager John Lynch when they granted Deebo Samuel permission to find a trade partner, but they had financial motivation for doing so.

Samuel is due a $15.4 million option bonus that prorates across the final year of his contract and four extra void years due on March 22.

Should they trade him before that date, his new team would take on the option, though the 49ers would still be stuck with an onerous $31.5 million dead cap hit.

The dead cap hit complicates a potential trade. Still in terms of avoiding being on the hook for his option for the next five years, the 49ers are under some deadline pressure to get a deal done.

If a trade starts to look unlikely as that March 22 deadline approaches, then the 49ers will probably pivot to releasing Samuel and designating him as a post-June 1 cut. Taking that course of action would see the 49ers avoid the option, save just over $5 million against the cap and take on just $10.75 million in dead money, per Over The Cap.

But the 49ers aren't likely to be enthused about the idea of letting go of a wideout who up until last season had been one of their most dynamic playmakers without recouping some kind of capital in return.

As such, the nearer the deadline gets, the more the price in a Samuel trade will go down. In a bid to ensure they get something back for Samuel, a deal could end up being done for pennies on the dollar relative to this contribution to the team over his six seasons in the NFL.

San Francisco and Samuel are against the clock, and the 49ers have other more pressing issues to think about, most notably the Brock Purdy extension. The 49ers would ideally like to recoup much more, but, if Samuel finds a trade partner that offers a relatively high day-three pick, it would be no surprise to see San Francisco begrudgingly accept.

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It only adds to the frustration.