The Jimmy Garoppolo-San Francisco 49ers drama that has been at the forefront of the NFL news cycle for more than a year finally had come to an end. And it’s an anticlimactic one.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Garoppolo and the 49ers agreed to a restructured contract that will keep him in San Francisco in 2022 as the backup to incoming starter Trey Lance. The contract reportedly will make him the highest-paid backup in the NFL, with Rapoport adding that Garoppolo will receive a base salary of $6.5 million with the ability to earn another $10 million in incentives if he’s required to start.
The saga between the two sides has gone through peaks and valleys with the start of the drama coming when the 49ers traded up to select Lance with the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Garoppolo played out the 2021-22 season as San Francisco’s starter, playing in 15 regular season games before leading the team to its second NFC Championship appearance in his three seasons as a full-time starter. At one point, a former 49ers coach claimed Garoppolo reportedly “ghosted” the organization after signing his initial deal with them.
It hasn’t always been a pretty relationship. Garoppolo only started more than 10 games twice in his five seasons as San Francisco’s starter, but they had some great moments together. Garoppolo led the 49ers to a Super Bowl in 2019 and won 31 of 45 regular-season games as the teams starter. He also went 4-2 in the postseason.
No matter how fans of the 49ers or other perspective teams feel, Jimmy G can take solace in knowing he made one former teammate look good with his prediction.
