Alex Boone isn’t the only player absent from the 49ers’ offseason workouts as he seeks a new contract. According to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, tight end Vernon Davis is also hoping for a new deal, and isn’t in attendance at the Niners’ workout program due to dissatisfaction with his current contract.
Davis has two years left in a five-year extension he signed back in 2010, which had a total value of $36.75MM. The $7.35MM per-year figure on that deal continues to make the 30-year-old one of the highest-paid players at his position. Only Rob Gronkowski ($9MM) and Jason Witten ($7.4MM) have higher annual values on their contracts, though Jimmy Graham figures to join that group if he and the Saints reach a long-term agreement.
Still, Davis’ current contract was structured so that it included a significant chunk of money in the form of a signing bonus as well as roster bonuses and workout bonuses. His actual base salaries for 2014 and 2015, which are non-guaranteed, are only $4.7MM and $4.35MM respectively. The standout tight end may be worthy of a little raise, or at least a new deal that includes more upfront guarantees, but he’s not significantly underpaid, and the Niners may have more pressing contract concerns, including a new deal for Boone and extensions for Colin Kaepernick, Michael Crabtree, and Mike Iupati.
While the current workout program is voluntary and there are no mandatory workouts on the Niners’ schedule until late June, Davis will lose his $200K workout bonus for 2014 by not attending the program, so the situation is worth monitoring over the next few weeks.