Patrick Willis, 49ers Agree To Terms On Lucrative Contract Extension

The 49ers had two players entering this offseason who would soon be receiving lucrative contracts. According to Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News, only one of those players would be getting that money from the 49ers.

NFL source: 49ers' long-term $$ basicallly was either/or between Willis & Vernon Davis. Willis got it. So Davis could be F/A next March.    

Willis of course signed a five-year, $50 million extension on Tuesday.

Davis was the 6th overall pick in the 2006 draft. He'll certainly be seeking an extension from the 49ers in light of the Willis contract. If it doesn't come in San Francisco, it'll come somewhere. 

Davis had 965 receiving yards last year and is considered a budding star in the NFL.

Check out all things 49ers at Niners Nation.

SB Nation's Niners Nation is taking a look at the big picture with Patrick Willis following the news that he signed a five-year contract extension worth $50 million.

Is he the perfect player? If there is such a thing, he's it, according to Niners Nation.

I don't know if there is such a thing as the "perfect player," but if there was such a player, I'd argue Patrick Willis is that guy. I realize a lot of times professional athletes usually are too good to be true. However, Patrick Willis seems like the total package. He's a phenomenal athlete and one of the best, if not the absolute best, at his position. More importantly as far as the big picture is concerned, he seems like a great person. Yea he says all the right things, but he's always come across as just a great person. You want great players on your team, but when you get great individuals, it makes it that much easier to root for them.    

Read an excellent article on Willis' long-term impact in the league over at Niners Nation.

With the current labor situation in the NFL, there's a clause that limits the amount of growth in a base salary from one year to the next. It's been dubbed the "30 percent rule" because, well, base salaries can't grow more than 30%.

For players still on their rookie contract usually with lose base salaries, like Patrick Willis, it can become a problem when it comes time to do a new deal. The way around it is loading up more money in a signing bonus but then you run into the problem of paying a player too much too early possibly causing him to forget in the latter years of the contract the money that he earned in the early years of the deal.

So how did the 49ers get around the 30 percent rule with Willis' new deal? According to Pro Football Talk, they used two signing bonuses.

They did it by giving him a relatively manageable signing bonus of $15.5 million, along with a second signing bonus (technically known as a "supersede signing bonus") of $4.8 million in 2011.  Basically, a new contract kicks in next year, with a new signing bonus.  And none of the money counts against the 30-percent rule.    

Read all updates at Niners Nation.