How the 49ers are getting the biggest bargain in the NFL with Jauan Jennings' new 2022 contract
Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings received a new NFL contract this week. Jennings was tendered a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers worth $825,000 (the league minimum for a player with his service time). The former Vol standout proved last season to be a valuable player for the 49ers. Jennings showed a […]
Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings received a new NFL contract this week.
Jennings was tendered a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers worth $825,000 (the league minimum for a player with his service time).
The former Vol standout proved last season to be a valuable player for the 49ers. Jennings showed a lot of what he showed at Tennessee — he was a tenacious blocker, picked up tough yards, and made clutch receptions.
So how is San Francisco getting Jennings for so cheap?
It's because of the way NFL contracts work. Jennings was a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he was waived just after the start of the 2020 season. Jennings signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. That contract made him an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA) after the 2021 season.
Here's how NFL.com describes an ERFA:
Any player with fewer than three accrued seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a one-year contract at the league minimum (based on his credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.
Jennings, who played in all three of the 49ers' playoff games this past season, doesn't have a choice but to sign the contract that San Francisco offered him (it's unclear if he's put pen to paper yet).
The only way Jennings could leave San Francisco and get a better contract is if the 49ers didn't tender him a contract. It's a major loophole that denies under-the-radar players who end up becoming key players a chance at a big payday like many of their counterparts.
Jennings obviously wouldn't break the bank in free agency. But he'd certainly receive a better deal than the league minimum. It's unfortunate for Jennings, but it's great for the 49ers. They get a wide receiver who played significant snaps for them last season — and improved significantly down the stretch — at a ridiculously low price (relative to other NFL contracts) for the 2022 season.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel, Knoxville News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC