It wasn’t a long wait for San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Days after reporting to training camp in a classic “hold-in,” working on the side while business was conducted, Samuel became the latest star wideout to cash in. Samuel has landed a three-year, $73.5 million maximum value contract that includes $58.1 million guaranteed. The deal was negotiated by Tory Dandy of Creative Artists Agency, the same agent who last week negotiated a similar contract for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf.
Deebo Samuel becomes the latest WR to benefit in exploding market
The 49ers and Samuel camp were both confident this deal would get worked out, and now it has. After some drama involving Samuel earlier this offseason, everyone got on the same page as he became the latest wide receiver to break the bank.
This follows deals for Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins, the Las Vegas Raiders and Davante Adams, the Los Angeles Rams and Cooper Kupp, to the Philadelphia Eagles and A.J. Brown, and the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin.
Samuel is the seventh wide receiver to sign a contract averaging $24 million or higher this offseason. It’s been the Year of the Wide Receiver so far in the NFL as this premium position keeps netting lucrative financial rewards.
49ers never wanted to trade Samuel and confidence was high a deal would get done
“We all know there’s a lot going on with Deebo right now,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said last week. “We’ll see what happens. I just had a great conversation with Deebo, so regardless of what happens, he’s going to go out there and condition on the side. We’ll see where he’s at. Hopefully, we can figure something out soon. But we’re in a good place for today.”
Throughout the process, league sources predicted this would happen. That echoed what 49ers general manager John Lynch said at the start of training camp.
“We’re focused on getting something done,” Lynch said. “Deadlines — and there’s not a hard deadline — but deadlines have a way of spurring these things into action. And that’s like I said, we’ve had a number of productive talks.”
This marks a speedy resolution to an impasse that existed earlier this offseason when there was concern being expressed about his workload, which includes plenty of carries as a running back. The 49ers never wanted to trade Samuel. They wanted to keep him in the fold and reward him for his talent and toughness.
Samuel led the NFL with 18.2 yards per catch last season. He combined for 14 touchdowns, including eight touchdown runs, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. He had 1,770 yards of total offense to rank third in the NFL.
Since the 49ers drafted Samuel, he’s done nothing but produce. Physically strong and explosive, Samuel has 167 career receptions for 2,598 yards and 10 touchdowns with 550 rushing yards and 11 touchdown runs.
He’s been durable. He’s done everything the 49ers wanted, and now they have rewarded him with a mega deal.