Niners Save $800K by Suspending, Not Cutting, De’Vondre Campbell

De’Vondre Campbell’s 49ers career is over—and likely at a discount cost. 

The team is suspending Campbell for the final three games of the regular season after he refused to enter Thursday’s game against the Rams in the third quarter, according to multiple reports. Campbell had been the team’s starting linebacker all season but saw his role reduced after teammate Dre Greenlaw returned from a torn Achilles, which he suffered in February’s Super Bowl. His refusal to play will end up costing him more than $800,000. 

The Niners are 6–8 and are technically still alive to clinch a playoff spot, though it is unlikely. 

Greenlaw started the game and experienced knee tightness, which led coach Kyle Shanahan to call on Campbell. He refused to enter the game and instead walked off the field with a towel over his head. 

His teammates blasted him for his actions with a few predicting he had played his last snap. On Friday, Shanahan said the team was working “on the semantics” of parting ways with Campbell. 

“It’s not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still get to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said Friday. 

Campbell signed a one-year, $5 million contract with San Francisco in March. He spent the previous three seasons with the Packers. The deal came with a $1.21 million base salary—which equates to $67,222 per game—and a $3.35 million signing bonus. If the 49ers cut Campbell, he would have gone on waivers, which would have allowed another team to sign him as a late-season addition. The Niners would have owed him the rest of his contract for the season, which carries a dead-cap hit of roughly $4.5 million. By suspending him, the Niners can possibly recoup some of the signing bonus. 

The Niners can get up to 25% of the signing bonus back, according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement, “because a refusal to play constitutes a forfeitable breach.” Campbell’s contract also includes four voidable non-guaranteed years, with the signing bonus being spread out over that five-year period, coming to $670,000 a year through 2028. The Niners can recoup $111,666 of his signing bonus (which would constitute about 16% of the bonus amount paid per year), according to Spotrac, plus Campbell’s three final game checks of the season, which comes to $201,666. 

In addition, he will lose $60,000 ($20,000 per game) in roster bonus money, which was awarded to him on the active roster for each game, according to Spotrac. Campbell was also on track for a $500,000 incentive for playing more than 70% of the Niners’ total defensive snaps. Campbell has currently played 83% of the Niners’ total defensive snaps through Thursday. That number will continue to drop over the final three games, making it extremely unlikely he will hit that incentive. 

In total, Campbell’s refusal to play cost him $873,332 ($500,000 + $60,000 + $111,666 + $201,666).

Campbell will be an unrestricted free agent for the 2025 season.