Part of the 49ers’ offseason cap management included pay cut requests with players such as defensive tackle Arik Armstead and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. The former ended up declining and signing with the Jaguars in free agency, while the latter agreed to a restructured deal. 
When addressing this spring’s developments, Juszczyk made it clear he did not foresee the team asking him to reduce his 2024 pay. San Francisco has, of course, had a number of contract matters to deal with during the offseason, chief among them an extension agreement with wideout Brandon Aiyuk. Plenty of progress needs to be made on that front as the team aims to also keep fellow receiver Deebo Samuel, tight end George Kittle (who also reworked his pact), recently-extended running back Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Brock Purdy in the fold for as long as possible.
“Honestly, it hurt when [general manager] John [Lynch] came to me and asked,” Juszczyk said about the pay cut request (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). “I wasn’t necessarily expecting it. It kind of hurts your ego and hurts your heart a little bit. I understand that it’s a business, but I do feel like I’m as valuable as what I was expected to get paid.”
Juszczyk, 33, received $4MM in new guarantees as a result of the arrangement worked out with the 49ers. He is on the books for two more years, and his overall AAV sits at $4.55MM. That figure is the highest in the NFL amongst fullbacks, something which Juszczyk insisted remained the case during contract talks.
“Quite honestly, that was important to me,” the Harvard alum added. “That was something that went into negotiations: ‘All right, we can figure this out and take a cut, but I still need to be the highest paid.’ No knocks on other fullbacks in the league, but I’m the best fullback in the league.”
Juszczyk spent his first four seasons with the Ravens, and he earned a Pro Bowl nod in his final Baltimore campaign. That 2016 honor has been repeated for each of his seven San Francisco years, and in 2023 he added first-team All-Pro acclaim to his resume. The former fourth-rounder has not surpassed 354 scrimmage yards in a season, but his success as a blocker has helped lead to sustained recognition as the standard at his position around the NFL. That will be accompanied by a positive outlook heading into 2024
“I still love John and [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] – still have great relationships with them,” Juszczyk said. “I think this is the best team in the league, and I think we have the best chance to win a Super Bowl. So this is where I wanted to be… So we got it done, and I’m back with the Niners, and so I am happy.”
Come on man! You gotta take a cut because Jennings and his 260 yards are so crucial!
They also had to tear up his fellow running back’s contract and make him the highest paid running back in football, giving him Juszczyk’s salary more than the second highest paid running back by AAV.