It’s being widely reported on Sunday morning that the San Francisco 49ers have granted WR Deebo Samuel and his agent Tory Dandy permission to find a trade partner during the offseason, and that’s not overly surprising. That news reportedly comes on the heels of Samuel asking San Francisco to trade him during the players’ exit meetings after the 2024 regular season ended. While Samuel appears set to be on the move this offseason, the 49ers might have problems trading his full contract to another team in its current form.
For starters, Samuel, according to Over the Cap, is due a $15,430,530 option bonus on March 22, which is obviously after the start of the 2025 NFL league year. This means that the wide receiver is set to earn $17,462,294 in 2025 based on how his current contract is structured. That includes the likely-to-be-earned portion of his per-game roster bonuses. It should also be noted that Samuel is currently only under contract through the 2025 season, as the extra years on his deal void next February.
With Samuel being due at least $17,462,294 in 2025, and with 2025 currently set to be the final year of his contract, the 49ers are likely to find it tough to trade the wide receiver without having to eat some of that option bonus he’s due in March. The 49ers will already be on the hook for $31,550,012 in 2025 dead salary cap money should they trade or cut Samuel prior to his option bonus being due.
Unless they can find a trade partner before March 22, the 49ers might be best served by just cutting Samuel outright and designating him a post-June 1 cut. That way, their dead money charge in 2025 would decrease somewhat at the expense of having to carry a dead money charge in 2026.
So, how does this relate to the Pittsburgh Steelers? Well, if you believe the reports last offseason that the Steelers had some interest in trading for Samuel, the only way that interest would carry over into this offseason would likely revolve around them getting the 49ers to eat a good portion of that $15,430,530 option bonus the wide receiver is due in March as part of the trade parameters. This situation is somewhat similar to the one I wrote about recently concerning Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp.
Assuming the 49ers will ultimately be willing to eat some of the option bonus that Samuel is due as part of any trade, teams other than the Steelers would likely have an interest in trading for him. Samuel, at the very least, is a lot younger than Kupp. Even so, the fact that he only has one year remaining on his current contract could make him just a one-year rental for a team that might acquire him via trade unless something can be worked out otherwise contractually, such as an extension agreed to prior to any deal.
At the very least, and much like Kupp, it seems all but certain that Samuel will be playing for a different team in 2025. Whether or not that different team winds up being the Steelers could very well depend on how badly the 49ers want to trade Samuel and for what level of compensation to boot. It also might depend on how willing Samuel is to agree to a contract extension prior to a possible trade.
In closing, I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Samuel being connected to the Steelers for at least the next several weeks. Even so, Samuel ultimately landing in Pittsburgh this offseason will almost certainly not happen with the Steelers acquiring the wide receiver’s contract in its current form.
