Kyle Juszczyk has admitted that his contract restructure that needed to have him take a pay cut hurt his ego a bit. Early in the offseason, 49ers general manager John Lynch came and asked him to rework his contract to make cap space for the team. And the fullback said that it did hurt a bit, even though he understood the business aspect of it. He also said that what he was expecting to get paid as per his deal before the restructure was something that he thinks he is worth.
Kyle Juszczyk said, as reported by NBC Sports,
“Honestly, it hurt. When John came to me and asked, I wasn’t necessarily expecting it, and I think it’s natural for anybody that it kind of hurts your ego. It hurts your heart a little bit. I do understand that it’s a business, but I do feel like I’m as valuable as what I was expected to get paid.”
Kyle Juszczyk added there was a whole process they had to go through and he eventually came to terms with the disappointment. What helped was that he wanted to remain a 49ers and did not want to go anywhere else. He concluded,
“All that said, there definitely was a process that we had to go through. And I had to come to terms with it and that sort of thing. At the end of the day, though, I really, truly, I wanted to be a Niner. This is where I wanted to be. I absolutely love it here.”
Kyle Juszczyk contract details
Kyle Juszczyk signed a five-year, $27 million contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. His pay was at an average annual value of $5.4 million. His restructured contract saves the team $1.75 million in cap space for 2024, as per NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Since 2016, Kyle Juszczyk has made it to eight straight Pro Bowls so one could understand why his ego was hurt. But the reason he might have wanted to return to the 49ers despite the pay cut could have to do with the way they play and creatively use a fullback like him in the modern game. After all, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 and traded to San Francisco. He found a new lease of life here and has always been a Pro-Bowler when he has been with the 49ers.
As long as he remains the highest-paid fullback in the league and has the chance to compete for Super Bowls every season, one assumes the fullback will be happy to continue where he is.
