Trent Williams’ price tag just went up.
That’s because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just gave left tackle Tristan Wirfs a five-year, $140 million extension. That’s a whopping $28.1 million per season. And that’s bad news for the 49ers.
Williams has held out all offseason because he wants a new deal. He has zero guaranteed money left on his current one, and his base salary for 2024 is roughly $20 million. So he’s underpaid relative to the rest of the left tackle market, considering he’s still the best left tackle in the NFL, even at 36 years old.
It hasn’t been reported exactly what Williams is demanding from the 49ers, but it seems likely he wants to be paid like he’s the best left tackle in the NFL. Which means a base salary that’s roughly $28 million per season. That would be a massive raise for Williams, but the 49ers have more than $30 million in cap space for this season, so they can afford it in the short term.
The question is whether the 49ers can afford a Williams extension in the long term, because they’re also trying to extend Brandon Aiyuk and next year they will try to extend Brock Purdy. So they may not have earmarked $28 million per season for an aging yet excellent left tackle
