Broncos Have Reportedly Asked Colin Kaepernick To Cut Salary To $7M As Part Of Trade

March 31, 2016

A source indicated to Jason Cole of B/R that the Broncos have asked QB Colin Kaepernick to reduce his salary from $11.9 million to approximately $7 million for the 2016 season as part of a trade.

Earlier in the day, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the 49ers will not be releasing Kaepernick before the April 1 deadline, which means his $11.9 million salary becomes guaranteed.

While Kaepernick ha reportedly requested a trade out of San Francisco, it appears likely that he would have to agree to a restructured contract with a reduced salary in order to join a new team. Of course, there’s a chance a team like the Broncos could include incentives for him make the money lost back by the end of the year.

Even with Kaepernick’s salary guaranteed for the 2016 season, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee believes there’s still a chance he could be traded, and adds that trade talks involving Kaepernick could pick up once Ryan Fitzpatrick signs with other Jets or Broncos.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN recently reported that talks between the 49ers and Broncos involving Kaepernick aren’t dead, but there just isn’t a lot momentum towards them reaching a deal.
According to Fowler, the Broncos may do a deal if the 49ers are willing to take a late-round pick for Kaepernick, but all indications are that they would prefer to keep him than accept a low draft pick for him.

Kaepernick, 28, is entering the third year of his seven-year, $126.97 million contract that included $61 million guaranteed and stands to make a base salary of $13.9 million for the 2016 season.

While those numbers are impressive on their own, the contract is essentially a pay-as-you-go agreement that includes ways for San Francisco to walk away with limited repercussions, as long as Kaepernick is healthy.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Kaepernick would free up $8,493,493 in available cap space and create $7,397,260 in dead money.

In 2015, Kaepernick threw for 1,615 yards while completing 59.3 percent of his passes to go along with six touchdowns and five interceptions over the course of eight games. He also added 228 yards rushing and a touchdown.

We’ll have more regarding Kaepernick as the news is available.