49ers Signing TE Vance McDonald To Five-Year, $35M Extension

December 9, 2016

Update

The San Francisco 49ers have made it official and announced their agreement with TE Vance McDonald.

“Vance has shown consistent growth throughout his four-year career and his production this season is the result of his dedication and hard work,” said General Manager Trent Baalke. “We believe he has only scratched the surface of what he will be able to accomplish in his career. Vance is a tremendous ambassador for the 49ers, and his passion for helping others provides a wonderful example for this organization. We look forward to his continued contributions to this organization, both on and off the field.”

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Adam Schefter and Adam Caplan of ESPN reports that the 49ers and TE Vance McDonald have agreed to a five-year, $35 million extension that includes $16 million guaranteed.

Caplan adds that McDonald receives a $7 million signing bonus as part of this agreement.

The closest comparison for McDonald‘s new contract is Saints TE Coby Fleener, who signed a five-year, $36 million contract with $18 million guaranteed several months ago.

McDonald has emerged as a productive tight end for the 49ers this season, as it appears as though they view him as a part of their offensive core, considering the money they committed to him in this new extension.

49ers HC Chip Kelly offered some recent praise for McDonald and the issues he can create for opposing defenses.

“He’s one of our weapons on the offensive side of the ball and he runs better than most tight ends in this league,” Kelly said, via CSN Bay Area. “So really depends on week to week what people have available at the safety spot to kind of match up with him. But he’s certainly someone that I think people defensively have to game plan for.”

McDonald, 26, is a former second-round pick of the 49ers back in 2013. He was in the final year of his four-year, $3.599 million contract and was set to make a base salary of $795,797 for the 2016 season.

In 2016, McDonald has appeared in 10 games and caught 24 passes for 391 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 19 tight end out of 63 qualifying players.