Fullback Kyle Juszczyk secured his return to the 49ers by agreeing to a new contract earlier this offseason. However, the conversation with General Manager John Lynch about adjusting his salary wasn’t easy.
The 49ers needed to free up salary cap space before the offseason, so they approached Juszczyk and asked him to take a pay cut to stay with the team.
Juszczyk agreed to the revised deal, which saved the 49ers $4 million in cap space. Initially, he felt hurt by the request. “Honestly, it hurt,” Juszczyk told Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com.
“When John came to me and asked, I wasn’t expecting it, and it naturally hurts your ego and your heart a bit.”
He acknowledges that football is a business, but he also believes in his value as a player. “I do feel like I’m as valuable as what I was expected to get paid,” Juszczyk said. Despite the emotional challenge, he ultimately wanted to stay with the 49ers. “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.”
Juszczyk remains the highest-paid fullback in the league and has no hard feelings about the contract adjustment. He believes the 49ers are the best team in the league, which reinforces his commitment to the organization.
