The San Francisco 49ers needed some breathing room for salary cap space, and fullback Kyle Juszczyk opened a hole for the team as he accepted a pay cut.

“It’s huge,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Tuesday at the annual NFL owners meetings in Orlando. “Kyle is a big part of this team, and has been since we got here. We would have hated to lose him. For Kyle to do that, it was great for us, great for him to stay with us. I’m really happy he decided to do that.”

Juszczyk had a five-year, $27 million deal with the team, which was scheduled to run through 2025. Amid his pay reduction, Juszczyk signed a two-year, $9.1 million deal as the 49ers will save $4 million in 2024.

“I think those are little things that give us an advantage,” 49ers owner and CEO Jed York said on Tuesday regarding Juszczyk. “To sort of stay in that mix, stay in that hunt where your window of winning a Super Bowl can be extended because guys are willing to work with you to stay on the team and also give you the room to be able to go attract more people to be able to come in to the club.”

Kyle Juszczyk Has Been Going Strong in NFL for a Decade

Kyle Juszczyk's 8 Pro Bowls are the most by a fullback in NFL history 👑 pic.twitter.com/F0SR5Jif8X

— PFF SF 49ers (@PFF_49ers) January 4, 2024

A fourth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2013, Juszczyk has been a steady force in two different NFL backfields for a decade. The former Harvard standout left the Ravens in free agency for the 49ers in 2017.

While Juszczyk doesn’t put up big numbers, his role as a blocker has helped the 49ers win regularly in recent years. He has helped the team reach two Super Bowls and four NFC Championship games.

“I feel like I’ve really been embraced,” Juszczyk said in January via The Washington Post. “Not too many teams do you really hear much about the fullback. A lot of fans probably couldn’t even tell you their names. But it’s really cool that here … all the [49ers] faithful are very aware of me and my name. … It means a lot.”

Juszczyk has 347 catches for 2,464 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career. He also has 211 yards rushing for five touchdowns on 62 carries.

How Kyle Juszczyk’s Wife Benefits From 49ers

Juszczyk’s wife, Kristin, got to promote her clothing business, which features NFL-licensed apparel, at the owners’ meetings. York noted that as an example things go both ways with the organization and the players’ families.

“I want to make sure [players] have great careers and make a lot of money,” York said. “But I also want to make sure that guys like Kyle, he’s here with his wife this week, she’s building out a business, if we can help, whether it’s a player or a player’s spouse, help them grow their business, we want to be able to do that. We want to be a family atmosphere.”

“And they show that it’s a family atmosphere on their side as well where they are willing to make adjustments so we can do what we can to try and go win a Super Bowl,” York added.