Jimmy Garoppolo contract, explained: How 49ers QB can double his 2022 salary after replacing injured Trey Lance

After coming up short in the NFC Championship Game last season, the 49ers made the decision to turn over the keys of the offense from Jimmy Garoppolo to their 2021 No. 3 overall pick, Trey Lance.

Lance didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself in his first season as the team’s official starting quarterback, playing in a monsoon in Chicago in Week 1 before suffering an ankle injury just moments into the 49ers’ Week 2 matchup with the Seahawks.

When the 49ers failed to find a proper trade return for Garoppolo in the offseason, they elected to hold on to their former starting quarterback, and the decision has already paid dividends.

Garoppolo went under center in the first quarter of San Francisco’s decisive win over Seattle last Sunday. After it was discovered Lance would need season-ending ankle surgery, Garoppolo will resume his position as the team’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the year.

With the way the 49ers restructured Garoppolo’s contract ahead of the start of the season — assuming he would serve as a backup — the 30-year-old QB will be in line to make a lot more money than San Francisco could have expected now that he is the interim starter.

What is Garoppolo’s contract and how is he in line to double his salary for the 2022 season? The Sporting News has answers below.

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Jimmy Garoppolo contract breakdown

Back in 2018, Garoppolo signed a massive five-year, $137.5 million contract with the 49ers. He was in line to make just north of $24 million this season but when San Francisco failed to trade the former starting quarterback, he elected to restructure his contract.

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Instead, Garoppolo signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the 49ers, also tacking on incentives, a no-trade and no-franchise tag clause.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Garoppolo was set to make $6.5 million guaranteed, but now that he’s the starter for the remainder of the season, he’s set to make much more.

Jimmy Garoppolo contract incentives

In addition to the $6.5 million guaranteed, no-trade and no-franchise tag clauses, Garoppolo’s one-year deal also had a number of incentives built in if the QB actually played in a certain amount of snaps in games.

In his 2022 season debut alone, Garoppolo made an additional $350,000 in bonuses.

His weekly game check is $382,000 and he gets an additional $29,411 tacked on to that for every game he’s on the active roster.

He’ll make $250,000 for every regular season game he plays at least 25 percent of his team’s snaps — which will be every game he’s healthy, now that he’s the starter — and he earns another $100,000 for every game the 49ers win with him under center.

But wait, there’s more!

If the 49ers make the playoffs, Garappolo will make $500,000 per playoff game in which he plays 50 percent of the team’s snaps, and a $1 million payout if San Francisco wins the Super Bowl.

Now feels like a good time to remind you that in two of the last three seasons, Garappolo has led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, going all the way to the Super Bowl (albeit, in a loss) in 2020.

Jimmy Garoppolo potential earnings 2022

Let’s assume Garoppolo remains healthy for the rest of the season and take a look at how much money he could earn.

He already has $7 million from his salary alone, so let’s just consider the bonuses on a game-by-game basis.