Trey Lance, 49ers Agree to 4-Year, $34.1M Fully Guaranteed Rookie Contract

After being selected with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft in April, Trey Lance is finally an official member of the San Francisco 49ers.

The agreement comes after 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters Tuesday he was "hopeful" a deal would be worked out with Lance soon.

Spotrac estimates the quarterback's four-year deal is worth $34.1 million in total value with a $22.2 million signing bonus. He will have a fifth-year option for the 2025 season as a first-round draft pick.

San Francisco left no doubt that Lance will be its quarterback of the future even before the draft. Lynch traded the No. 12 pick and a third-round selection in 2021, as well as first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, to the Miami Dolphins for the third pick.

It wasn't known at the time whom the Niners would select, but Lance wound up being the choice.

"We looked into all of the others," head coach Kyle Shanahan told The Rich Eisen Show in May of the 49ers' decision-making process about the trade (h/t NBC Sports Bay Area). "We looked into the fourth pick, we looked into the fifth pick, and the third one was the one that had the most chance to move a month in advance."

The 49ers got an in-person look at Lance's skill set during organized team activities and minicamp in May, and tight end George Kittle came away impressed.

Kittle told reporters:

"He looks a little bit better than a rookie quarterback. He's out there, he's slinging it. I was really excited yesterday -- he made an awesome throw on a play-action. He found my rookie (tight end) Josh Pederson on a far-corner is what we call it on a rollout, which is like the last guy you throw it to on the play. The fact that he found him in his first-ever rollout pretty cool."

It's unclear when Lance will get the keys to San Francisco's offense since Jimmy Garoppolo is still under contract.

Shanahan told The Athletic's Tim Kawakami (h/t Alex Didion of NBC Sports Bay Area) he still sees Garoppolo as the starter, but he "wouldn't hesitate" to go with Lance if he gives them the best chance to win.

Garoppolo helped the 49ers win the NFC West and reach Super Bowl LIV in 2019, but injuries limited him to six games last season.

Lance will have to prove he's up to speed after playing one game in North Dakota State's 2020 season.

The 21-year-old won the Walter Payton Award in 2019 as the most outstanding FCS player as he led the Bison to a national title. He threw for 2,786 yards, ran for 1,100 yards and accounted for 42 touchdowns with zero interceptions in 16 games.