Niners sign Staley to extension through 2017

The 49ers locked up left tackle Joe Staley through the 2017 season with a six-year contract extension the club announced just moments ago.

Staley has played every offensive snap since the 49ers traded up in the first round of the 2007 draft to select him with the No. 28 overall pick. He started at right tackle as a rookie before switching to the left side last season.

 

“Joe Staley is the type of player we want to continue to add to this football team,” 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan said. “He’s a tough, versatile, no-nonsense type of guy who wants to do whatever it takes to help his team win football games.

 

“Joe is a consummate team player and has been completely unselfish in the way he has approached his role on this team. We know what he means to the success of the 49ers and getting this extension done puts us in a very nice position for the future.”

 

Terms of the new deal were not immedidately available. Staley’s rookie contract was a five-year, $6.85 million deal that included a $1.1 million signing bonus and a $2.52 million option bonus.

 

Staley said the 49ers approached him early in the offseason about working out a contract extension. He said he has gotten the indication that this is what the 49ers plan to do with some other players, including linebacker Patrick Willis. The 49ers signed outside linebacker Parys Haralson to an extension earlier this offseason.

 

“I think it’s very important if you are going to build a winning franchise to keep people around here for an extended period of time so you can get used to them,” Staley said. “That’s how you win games. So I’m excited to get this deal done, and now we can move forward and hopefully get some other guys signed here and move forward.”

 

There was some talk this offseason that if the 49ers drafted or signed a left tackle, they might move Staley back to the right side. However, Staley said he believes he will be the 49ers’ left tackle for a long, long time.

 

“I’ve had meetings with coaches and the indication is I’m the left tackle here, and that’s what I’m going to be,” Staley said. “That’s my position everybody else can compete for other spots on the line.”

 

* * *UPDATE: ESPN’s John Clayton reports the six-year extension includes $42 million in new money, including $18 million guaranteed. If he meets his escalators, he could earn an additional $3 million, according to the report.

 

* * *UPDATE II: The 49ers had approximately $25 million in cap space when the day began. They wisely worked the extension with Staley to eat into that figure. To lessen the deal’s impact on the future, Staley’s cap figure this year rises from $1.42 million to $11.6 million. The deal is very similar to what the 49ers did in 2007 with Nate Clements when they gave him a $10M roster bonus that counted immediaely against that year’s cap.

 

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