After contributing as much as Spencer Burford did for the first three seasons, he earned a raise that ultimately led to the 49ers moving money around in his contract
Since the offseason began, the San Francisco 49ers have asked Spencer Burford to take over the Jaylon Moore role, backing up Trent Williams at left tackle.
Burford looked comfortable in limited action on the left side last season:
Watched Spencer Burford’s snaps after he filled in for Banks. He looked more assertive/comfortable on the left side. If he has to fill in for Banks the 49ers shouldn’t miss a beat
Watch Burford pull here. Ignore the result, watch him block the most dangerous man and de-cleat him pic.twitter.com/AEAetptOIC
— Kyle Posey (@KP_Show) September 10, 2024
It’s almost as if Burford played left tackle in college. In fairness, physicality has never been an issue for Burford. As is the case with most inexperienced offensive linemen, the mental processing portion of the game is the biggest hurdle.
Burford’s contract renegotiation details
Per Spotrac, Burford has a 2025 PPE (Proven Performance Escalator) clause in his contract. It’s the first tier, which means if Burford triggers the clause, his base salary escalates in his fourth year and the amount of the Original Draft Round RFA tender, if applicable.
Per Over the Cap, Burford needed to play at least 35 percent of the offensive snaps over his first three years. Despite only playing in 12 percent of the snaps in 2024, Burford starting 13 games in 2023 and 16 games as a rookie helped him easily trigger the bonus with 60 percent of the snaps during his first three seasons.
That means Burford earned $500,000. That’s a heck of a bonus, and something Burford earned. Burford’s original signing bonus was set to be $168,014. That figure is now $668,014. Burford’s previous base salary was $3.4 million. That number was shaved to $1.265 million. Burford also saw his cap number lowered for 2025. It was previously $3.57 million. That figure is now $2.91 million.