Taking a look at the top 10 San Francisco 49ers under contract in 2026, NFL salary cap projections and the team’s highest-paid players.
Stop me if you have heard this before…the San Francisco 49ers had their season severely limited due to a number of injuries to star players. In 2025, the 49ers once again had to navigate through a season without a majority of their top players, including Nick Bosa, Trent Williams and Fred Warner. San Francisco certainly has the team to compete for a Super Bowl when they are fully healthy, and with the continued improvement of Brock Purdy, the 49ers have as good a chance as any to get to the Super Bowl next season.
Below, we will take a look at the 10 best players that the San Francisco 49ers still have under contract for next season. We will also look at NFL salary cap projections and the top cap hits on the team in 2026.
All San Francisco 49ers salary cap data below is accurate as of February 22nd, 2026.
10 Best San Francisco 49ers Under Contract in 2026
These are the 10 best players the San Francisco 49ers still have under contract for the 2026 season, in the order of their current salary cap hit. For those who know ball, you will recognize that these are the team’s 10 best players and not just the players that journalism nerds think they need to talk about.
- Nick Bosa, EDGE ($41.6M)
- Trent Williams, OT ($38.8M)
- Brock Purdy, QB ($24.8M)
- Fred Warner, LB ($17.9M)
- George Kittle, TE ($15.9M)
- Christian McCaffrey, HB ($10.9M)
- Deommodore Lenoir, CB ($8.9M)
- Colton McKivitz, OT ($5.8M)
- Dee Winters, LB (3.7M)
- Kyle Juszczyk, FB ($2.9M)
Highest San Francisco 49ers Cap Hits in 2026
As things stand today, here is a list of the 10 highest player hits against the San Francisco 49ers’ salary cap in 2026. Obviously, contracts can be manipulated, and a player could be cut or traded as well. In the case of a release, we have listed a player’s dead cap. This is how much money they would count against the cap if they are cut from the team.
- EDGE, Nick Bosa, $41.6M ($75.8M dead cap)
- OT, Trent Williams, $38.8M ($34.2M)
- QB, Brock Purdy, $24.8M ($90.9M)
- LB, Fred Warner, $17.9M ($53.7M)
- TE, George Kittle, $15.9M ($41.2M)
- WR, Brandon Aiyuk, $14.6M ($29.6M)
- HB, Christian McCaffrey, $10.9M ($21.1M)
- CB, Deommodore Lenoir, $8.9M ($13M)
- OT, Colton McKivitz, $5.8M ($18.3M)
- EDGE, Mykel Williams, $5.7M ($20.4M)
NFL Salary Cap Projections 2026
The league has informed teams that the 2026 NFL salary cap will be between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team. Below, we will assume a salary cap of $303.45 million, using data from Spotrac.
| Rk | TM | Current Players | Cap Space | Dead Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEN | 52 | $97,776,638 | $5,135,657 |
| 2 | LV | 49 | $87,821,212 | $35,238,302 |
| 3 | LAC | 52 | $82,100,325 | $478,183 |
| 4 | NYJ | 51 | $78,990,889 | $88,996,619 |
| 5 | WAS | 52 | $66,506,531 | $12,592,731 |
| 6 | SEA | 57 | $63,421,971 | $483,724 |
| 7 | CIN | 63 | $52,675,496 | $11,248,222 |
| 8 | PIT | 60 | $44,768,173 | $7,934,338 |
| 9 | LAR | 53 | $44,390,412 | $8,570,436 |
| 10 | IND | 60 | $34,952,488 | $2,093,644 |
| 11 | NE | 64 | $34,800,699 | $20,364,345 |
| 12 | ARI | 59 | $32,813,790 | $14,951,854 |
| 13 | ATL | 50 | $26,181,296 | $4,660,354 |
| 14 | DEN | 55 | $26,033,090 | $1,218,922 |
| 15 | BAL | 48 | $22,673,001 | $12,262,715 |
| 16 | SF | 59 | $22,453,414 | $36,327,740 |
| 17 | TB | 52 | $14,479,885 | $253,922 |
| 18 | CAR | 54 | $9,875,093 | $14,607,844 |
| 19 | NYG | 58 | $7,030,099 | $216,988 |
| 20 | PHI | 56 | $3,679,036 | $53,387,574 |
| 21 | MIA | 52 | -$3,699,267 | $73,949,385 |
| 22 | GB | 66 | -$4,344,831 | $17,171,715 |
| 23 | HOU | 54 | -$8,042,142 | $39,318,780 |
| 24 | DET | 49 | -$9,151,960 | $9,287,290 |
| 25 | CHI | 53 | -$9,503,349 | $917,995 |
| 26 | JAX | 61 | -$12,074,552 | $50,977,118 |
| 27 | KC | 54 | -$14,403,869 | $215,642 |
| 28 | BUF | 59 | -$15,187,073 | $30,093,166 |
| 29 | CLE | 55 | -$19,541,898 | $39,763,849 |
| 30 | DAL | 54 | -$25,890,723 | $24,344,178 |
| 31 | MIN | 54 | -$40,632,414 | $5,608,074 |
| 32 | NO | 66 | -$41,774,364 | $90,590,412 |
