Trent Williams' reworked 49ers deal reflects his Hall of Fame status and their faith in him vs. Father Time
Trent Williams wanted guaranteed money and a contract that reflects his status as the consensus best tackle in football. The details of his restructured contract with the San Francisco 49ers reveal that he got his wish. Williams returned to practice for the 49ers on Tuesday after news emerged earlier in the day that he and […]
Trent Williams wanted guaranteed money and a contract that reflects his status as the consensus best tackle in football.
The details of his restructured contract with the San Francisco 49ers reveal that he got his wish.
Williams returned to practice for the 49ers on Tuesday after news emerged earlier in the day that he and San Francisco were close to finalizing a deal to end his lengthy contract holdout.
Shortly after Williams spoke to the media following practice, his agency revealed the numbers of the reworked deal that ended his impasse with the 49ers.
The 11-time Pro Bowler had three years, $77.31 million left on his previous deal, with none of it guaranteed.
His restructured deal is worth $82.66 million over the next three years and sees Williams receive the next two years of the contract ($48 million) guaranteed at signing. It features a $25.69 million signing bonus, with Williams set to earn $27.65 million in cash this year, the most of any offensive lineman.
The deal will take Williams to $103 million in guarantees since re-signing with the 49ers in 2021 having joined them in a 2020 trade from the Washington Commanders. That is the most guaranteed money for any lineman in that span.
In addition to getting Williams the upfront money he desired, the average annual value on his deal is now representative of his status as the best left tackle in football.
Indeed, Williams is now set to average $27.55 million per year, the most of any left tackle, though he trails Tristan Wirfs and Penei Sewell among all tackles.
Put simply, Williams' reworked deal is reflective of his incredible reputation, his importance to the San Francisco offense and the 49ers' faith in him to continue to hold off Father Time and play at an All-Pro level as the 36-year-old tests the boundaries of what he can achieve.
Speaking in his press conference after practice, Williams said: "I'm going to play as long as I can, as long as I feel like I'm a productive player. As long as I feel like I have something to offer, I'm going to want to play football. That's all I've done since the second grade.
"Father Time is undefeated from what we've seen. Obviously, you can fight him off for a little bit, but you're going through this process. That was kind of the goal.
"I told myself, obviously this deal's done, get it out the way, but how I've always conducted myself after signing the deal, I've never thought about what I signed for. I thought about what I could get next and how could I prove that I'm worth it and how could I prove that I'm worth more? How could I, so it kind of goes right back to that getting this deal out the way and I want to play it until I'm 40.
"I want to be, I've seen (Andrew) Whitworth winning Super Bowl at 41 or 42. It is like, why not me? So, who knows if you get compensated at the top of your position at the age of 40? But I don't think that matters to me if I could still be out there.
"I just want to continue to knock barriers down. And I know at my age it's probably, there's not been a lot of people to play at an All-Pro level outside of a quarterback.
"I just want to continue to bust those barriers and continue to show that this is a new age, the research that we've done and what have they've done and how they've sculpted our schedules to kind of keep us fresher and keep the banging off of our bodies. I think it does allow you to play longer. I want to take advantage of that."
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