March 22, 2026, 7:39 a.m. PT
The San Francisco 49ers are officially keeping restricted free agent Sam Okuayinonu in the building on a new one-year contract.
Okuayinonu received a right of first refusal restricted free agent tender from the 49ers. That tender, had he chosen to play on it, would have been a one-year, $3,520,000 contract with no guarantees.
According to Over the Cap the 49ers instead worked out a one-year deal at a lower cost that comes with a little bit of guaranteed money for the former undrafted free agent. OTC reported the contract is worth up to $2.3 million with $1.8 million guaranteed. His cap hit will be $2,280,000 for San Francisco this season.
This is good business for both sides. Okuayinonu had the opportunity to explore the free agent market after being tendered. Instead he winds up staying in San Francisco while receiving guaranteed money even at a lower overall contract. The guarantees don’t necessarily ensure him a 53-man roster spot, but it puts him in a spot to make money even if he doesn’t ultimately make the team. Early roster projections would say he has an inside track to making the team, however, given the team’s need for depth at defensive end and his improvement while playing 31 games with 15 starts across the last two seasons.
For the 49ers, they were able to keep a rotational depth player in the mix at an important position at a minimal cost. In an ideal world they won’t have to lean on Okuayinonu to be more than a fourth or fifth pass rusher. Things are rarely ideal in the NFL, though, and having Okuayinonu in the building on an affordable contract is helpful.
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