The San Francisco 49ers sit in a six-way tie for second place in the NFC at 5-2 despite spending just $153.1 million on their active roster, second-to-last in the NFL, while carrying a league-record $314.2 million salary cap allocation.
The 49ers entered the 2025 league year with a record $341.4 million adjusted salary cap after rolling over unused space. San Francisco then lost expensive veterans Deebo Samuel, Arik Armstead, Charvarius Ward, Leonard Floyd, Javon Hargrave, and Kyle Juszczyk through trades, releases, or free agency in March.
Those departures left the 49ers with a league-record $101.1 million in dead cap spending. Combined with $56.1 million spent on injured players, the team\'s active roster spending totals less than half their overall cap number.
Defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner suffered season-ending injuries during the first seven weeks. Franchise quarterback Brock Purdy has missed all but one game since Week 1 due to turf toe, despite being one of the team\'s four highest active cap hits.
Offensive tackle Trent Williams and tight end George Kittle, recently activated from injured reserve, also rank among the team\'s highest cap numbers. Backup quarterback Mac Jones has helped keep San Francisco competitive with a 4-1 record in one-score games.
According to Aaron Schatz, creator of Football Outsiders, the 49ers have ranked in the bottom third of the league in adjusted games lost to injuries in all but one season since 2017 under head coach Kyle Shanahan. The team ranks dead last in that metric for 2024.
The 49ers project to rank 20th in cap spending for 2026 as the dead cap situation clears. San Francisco trails only the New Orleans Saints in active roster spending this season despite remaining firmly in the playoff hunt.