The best teams have the best players, but when all the best players want to be paid as such, it can become impossible for teams to retain them all. Often, in order to keep a solid core around and stay with a winning squad, players end up taking pay cuts or revising their contracts.
This was the case with San Francisco 49ers fullback, Kyle Juszczyk, who valued staying put more than he valued a bigger contract.
Juszczyk admitted that it was not easy to hear that he would not get the money he wanted, but in the end it was all about being a 49er. The 33-year-old worked out a deal with the team and general manager John Lynch that would end up saving the team $4 million in salary cap space.
He admitted that it wasn’t an easy conversation and was one he didn’t see coming.
“Honestly, it hurt,” Juszczyk said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “When John came to me and asked, I wasn’t necessarily expecting it, and I think it’s natural for anybody that 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 and 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.”
In the end, he said there are “no hard feelings” and he is still the highest-paid player in his position in the NFL, something that was important for him to remain.
“Quite honestly, that was important to me,” he said, of remaining the highest-paid fullback. “That was something that went into negotiations: ‘All right, we can figure this out and take a cut, but I still need to be the highest paid.’ No knocks on other fullbacks in the league, but I’m the best fullback in the league.”
The negotiations forced Juszczyk to think about his future and saw the situation as a wake-up call.
“I want to play as long as possible. And I always thought that was going to be up to me,” the veteran said. “This was the first time that it crept in my mind that, you know, maybe how long I play isn’t 100 percent up to me.”
The 49ers made it to the Super Bowl last season and many believe, including Juszczyk, that they have a chance to get back this year, maybe even come home with the Lombardi Trophy this time. According to Caesars Sportsbook, the 49ers have the second-best odds of winning it all (+625). Juszczyk thinks his team should be at the top of everyone’s list.
“I think this is the best team in the league, and I think we have the best chance to win a Super Bowl. So this is where I wanted to be. That’s where my roots are. I have a home here. So we got it done, and I’m back with the Niners, and so I am happy,” the eight-time Pro Bowler said.
Juszczyk decided staying with the team was the end goal, but not everyone moves the same. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead didn’t want to take a cut and instead was released and signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.