Despite still being the highest paid fullback, being asked to take a paycut still didn’t sit well.
While talk of Brandon Aiyuk and what he’s going to get paid dominates things, we probably could return to someone who took a paycut so the 49ers have money to play with in the first place. That’s Kyle Juszcyk. As you might remember, Juszcyk was part of the 49ers’ group who was asked to take a paycut. Another notable name being Arik Armstead, who refused and was released.
Juszcyk took the cut and nothing much more was heard. He caught up with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco at the American Century Classic and was asked on his thoughts about the paycut.
“Honestly, it hurt. When John came to me and asked, I wasn’t necessarily expecting it and I think it’s natural for anybody for that just, you know, it kind of hurts your ego. It hurts your heart a little bit. I do understand that it’s a business, but I do feel like I’m as valuable as what I was expected to get paid.
“All that said, there definitely was a process that we had to go through. I had to come to terms with it and that sort of thing. At the end of the day, though, I really, truly, I wanted to be a Niner. This is where I wanted to be. I absolutely love it here. I still love John and Kyle, I still have great relationships with them. I think this is the best team in the league and we have the best chance to win a Super Bowl. This is where I wanted to be, this is where my roots at, I have a home here. We got it done and I’m back with the Niners. So I am happy, there’s no hard feelings.”
Juszcyk followed up saying, “it took me a while to get here,” but still expressed excitement for the season.
One thing to remember is Juszcyk remains the highest paid fullback in the league. Just as the highest paid fullback he is paid a bit less.
“Quite honestly that was important to me,” Juszcyk said when asked the question. “That was something that went into negotations. Alright, we could take this cut, but I still need to be the highest paid.”
Meanwhile, Arik Armstead plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rather than take a cut, Armstead asked for his release. Paycuts always are a blow in the buisness to deal with and there’s two different outcomes of the scenario right there. One negotiates what they can and sticks around and the other leaves to get paid elsewhere.
Juszcyk and Kyle Shanahan have been through a lot. He was part of the first crop of free agents in Shanahan’s first season (and one of two who actually worked out long-term). The problem was, getting anyone to come to San Francisco as bleak a future the 49ers were looking at cost money. John Lynch and Shanahan paid Juszcyk $21 million which drew criticism from many for a fullback.
When Juszczyk is out of the lineup, the running game suffers. There’s also less misdirection for Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling. Plus, he did this.
Good thing he likes the 49ers. And they are lucky this didn’t end up like the Armstead scenario.