The 49ers weren't going to let Jimmy Garoppolo get away. 

 

On Thursday, the team awarded the quarterback with a five-year, $137.5 million contract, including $74 million in guarantees, reports NBC Bay Area's Matt Maiocco. 

 

The 26-year-old quarterback with seven career starts is now the NFL's highest-paid player in terms of average annual salary. 

 

His $27.5 million per season, on average, is $500,000 more than the Lions' Matthew Stafford.

 

Garoppolo was traded from New England to San Francisco in late October and all it took was a second-round pick. And after a month of learning the 49ers offense, Garoppolo took over the starting job in Week 13 and proceeded to win five straight games. He took a team that was 1-10 at that point and led them to a 6-10 finish.