After being given a taste of what Jimmy Garoppolo is capable of at the end of last season, there’s very little reason why the 49ers shouldn’t sign the 26-year-old quarterback to a long-term deal this summer. Although general manager John Lynch voiced his desire to keep Garoppolo in San Francisco for a “long, long time” earlier this offseason, there’s a major factor that could impact how much his deal will be worth, as pointed out by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter on Murph & Mac Thursday morning.
“The issue that you have here, I think, is that at some point this offseason we might see a deal be made for Aaron Rodgers, and when those numbers come in they’re going to be really high. Really high,” Schefter said. “So if you’re the 49ers you probably want to move quicker, and Jimmy Garoppolo and Don Yee want to slow play this because it’s only going to boost your value.”
Rodgers is lightyears ahead of Garoppolo in terms of their NFL careers. Rodgers has spent 13 years with the Green Bay Packers, during which time he won two MVP awards, the Super Bowl in 2010, and made a name for himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game today.
“I think he’ll set the benchmark,” Schefter said about Rodgers. “Whatever the number is. $30 million. $32 million. $35 million. I mean, you name the number and whatever he asks for he’s worth in my mind. He’s the best quarterback and most talented quarterback in the game today…He can go in there and my guess is the starting point will be $30 million.”
Meanwhile, Garoppolo has only seen 23 games of action in the NFL over the course of four seasons with only seven starts since 2016. Nonetheless, from what the 49ers saw from Garoppolo in the final five games of the season, they believe they are in possession of a rare talent with potential comparable to Rodgers.
“I think when push comes to shove when this deal gets done, if I had to guess, I’d guess it comes in between $25 or $30 million per year, depending on variable factors” Schefter said.
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and start from the beginning for Schefter on Garoppolo.