By Josh Dubow, The Associated Press

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams has opted out of his contract extension and joined the San Francisco 49ers to sign a new deal that will give him a significant raise and guaranteed salary.

Williams’ agency, Elite Loyalty Sports, posted on social media on Tuesday that Williams’ new contract will pay him $82.66 million over three years, with a signing bonus of $25.69 million and $48 million guaranteed at signing.

“I didn’t think it would drag on like this, but it’s a tough deal,” Williams said. “It was a very complicated contract, I wouldn’t call it a dispute, but a restructuring. It took some time for both sides to feel it was a win-win situation.”

Williams, 36, was due $20.05 million this season, but no longer had any guaranteed money on his six-year, $138.1 million contract he signed in 2021. Williams joins Tristan Wirfs, Penei Sewell and Christian Darrisaw as tackles who will receive contracts worth at least $26 million per year this offseason.

Williams was at home in Texas for the entire duration of training camp while he searched for a new contract. He had amassed nearly $5.4 million in mandatory fines for missing camp and three preseason games.

“I try not to think about it,” Williams said of the fines. “It’s one of those things where you know you’re going to get some benefit out of it. … For lack of a better word, it’s a kind of war where both sides lose a little blood, but at the end of it, they raise the white flag. We both sign a little peace treaty and it’s all good.”

Williams said missing training camp was difficult, and the time away from his teammates reinforced his hunger to still compete. He also felt depressed watching everyone else in the league prepare for the season.

“Imagine a kid who can’t go to recess and has to watch everyone through the window,” he said. “It’s really been ups and downs. There were times when I didn’t know if it was really worth it. I just needed that camaraderie. I wanted to see my boys. I hadn’t seen them in a long time. Of course, the last time we were together, it wasn’t how we wanted it to be.”

But he got a new deal after the 49ers settled their two major contract disputes before Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets. San Francisco signed star receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract extension last Thursday, ending his “waiting period.”

The transfers mean the Niners will have almost all of the key players from last season’s stellar offense back when the 2024 season begins. The only missing players who played at least 200 snaps on offense last season are backup guard Jon Feliciano, backup tight end Charlie Woerner and No. 4 receiver Ray-Ray McCloud.

Perhaps the most important thing was to bring back Williams, as he is one of the most irreplaceable players in a star-studded squad.

Williams has been widely regarded as one of the game’s best offensive players in recent years. He has been the All-Pro left tackle for the past three seasons and a key reason for San Francisco’s offensive success.

Williams said he is in no hurry to end his career and would like to play until he is 40. He cited former Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth, who won a Super Bowl at age 40, as an inspiration.

“I’m going to play as long as I can,” he said. “As long as I feel like I’m a productive player, as long as I feel like I have something to offer, I’m going to want to play football. That’s all I’ve done since second grade. But from what we’ve seen, Father Time is undefeated. Of course, you can stand up to him for a while. Going through that process, that was kind of the goal.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl