Contract Analysis - Deommodore Lenoir
Analyzing the 5 year $89.8 million contract extension between Deommodore Lenoir and the San Francisco 49ers.
Hey everyone, TC here,
The NFL playoff picture is starting to take shape, NFL teams are benching quarterbacks, and head coaches are already getting fired.
Buried in the chaos of the NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers completed a five-year contract extension with defensive back Deommodore Lenoir late last week. In this edition of Cap & Trade, I will break down the details of the contract and what it means for the market.
Player Bio
Deommodore Lenoir is a 4th year defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers. Lenoir was drafted in the 5th round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Before the extension, Lenoir was playing on the final year of his original four-year rookie contract.
Lenoir’s previous salary and cash flow for 2024 was scheduled to be $3.116 million. This amount represents the salary increase as part of the Proven Performance Escalator (PPE) available to players drafted outside of the first round. More information on the PPE can be found here at overthecap.
Lenoir became a regular fixture in the San Francisco defense in 2022 playing nearly 1,200 snaps across the defense and special teams combined with a majority of his work at the outside cornerback spot with 781 snaps on the boundary.
In 2023 the team signed DB Charvarius Ward as an unrestricted free agent and shifted Lenoir’s work split time between the boundary cornerback and slot cornerback. Lenoir’s snap rate increased at a 2-to-1 rate on the inside. Lenoir finished the 2023 season as one of the better-rated cornerbacks.
For the 2024 season, Lenoir has continued a similar trajectory currently rated as the 10th-best cornerback in HAVOC (via Field Vision Sports). Lenoir’s efficiency shows up in the per-snap rates as well with 8.8 snaps per reception allowed and 5.5 snaps per target allowed through Week 10 of the regular season; both efficient number metrics rate Lenoir in the Top 10 among slot cornerbacks. Lastly, Lenoir has a 6.7% run stop rate, also ranking him in the Top 10 among slot cornerbacks.
Contract Value
San Francisco and Lenoir agreed to a 5-year contract extension tying Lenoir to the organization through the 2029 season. The valuation of the contract is as follows:
$89.8 million in new money over 5 years.
$92.0 million in total value over 6 years.
$17.96 million new money APY.
$15.33 million in total value APY.
$15.47 million fully guaranteed at signing.
$38.55 million in total guarantees.
The contract contains a double option bonus structure with $21 million tied to option bonuses over 2025 and 2026 and two void years (2030 and 2031) for salary cap purposes.
The contract also includes, what I call fluff guarantees, with guarantee protection tied to per-game roster bonuses and workout bonuses. The bonuses in 2025 and 2026 have guarantee protection from release, however, the player must still attend offseason workouts to earn those bonuses and remain healthy to be active on game day to earn those per-game bonuses (PGRB).
San Francisco operates differently with their vesting schedules (ie. when injury guarantees vest into full guarantees for skill, cap, and injury). The team sets contract vesting schedules to align with the organization’s fiscal calendar, more specifically the vesting dates are typically set for April 1st of each calendar year.
Lenoir’s 2025 injury guarantee, $6.52 million, will vest to a full guarantee on April 1, 2025. And his $16.57 million 2026 guarantee will vest on April 1, 2026.
Market Comparisons
Comparing the Deommodore Lenoir contract against the market becomes very cloudy after factoring in where Lenoir lines up on the field. Is he is true slot cornerback? Maybe. Is he a true boundary cornerback? Maybe.
The expectation for 2025 is for Lenoir to slide back to the boundary cornerback position with the pending departure of DB Charvarius Ward. I think it is fair to say that San Francisco valued this extension with that position change in mind.
A new money value of $17.96 million per year, currently, places Lenoir as the 12th highest-paid cornerback.
The highest-paid slot cornerbacks are DB Michael Carter with the New York Jets and DB Taron Johnson with the Buffalo Bills, both valued at $10.25 million average per year.
San Francisco, in my estimation, wanted to get ahead of potential market adjustments at the cornerback position. Jalen Ramsey and Patrick Surtain are the two highest-paid cornerbacks at $24+ million per year.
The outside cornerback group is large including players such as Sauce Gardner (NYJ), Derek Stingley (HOU), Zyon McCollum (TB), Trent McDuffie (KC), and Christian Benford (BUF), and Tariq Woolen (SEA) all set to earn new contract extensions in the 2025 offseason.
Followed by a group of slot cornerbacks also slated to earn extensions with Greg Newsome (CLE), Jalen Pitre (HOU), and Roger McCreary (TEN).
The slot cornerback market should size a jump in value from the current $10 million threshold, thereby (theoretically) also inflating the potential market for the boundary cornerback group.
San Francisco elected to get in front of all of that. Additionally, the organization did not want to get wrapped up in a bidding war with 31 other teams when free agency opens in March 2025 to compete for Lenoir’s services.
Thanks for reading!
-TC