San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke and Seattle general manager John Schneider weren't the only ones to help build the 49ers and Seahawks. The collective bargaining agreement also did.

While the Ravens, Packers, Cowboys and Lions are paying premium prices for their franchise quarterbacks, the 49ers and Seahawks -- thanks to the CBA -- are not.

This season, in what will be the final year of the contract before it is restructured and extended, the 49ers will pay Colin Kaepernick a base salary of $741,000. The Seahawks will pay Russell Wilson a base salary of $525,000. San Francisco and Seattle will do this at a time when Denver will pay Peyton Manning a base salary of $882,352 per week, meaning Manning will make more in one week this season than either Wilson or Kaepernick will all season.

The two NFC West rivals, each of whom is a favorite to win the NFC championship, have an excess of cash and salary-cap space to upgrade their rosters in other areas because they are prohibited from giving that money to their quarterbacks.

Instead, the 49ers can absorb the $6 million base salary for wide receiver Anquan Boldin that the Ravens could not. The Seahawks can take on a two-year, $15 million deal for defensive end Cliff Avril that the Lions struggled to fit in. Seattle and San Francisco can spend money where they want, when they want, because they do not have to save it for their quarterbacks.

Teams tied to successful quarterbacks with contracts done under the new CBA have a decided advantage against teams tied to successful quarterbacks with contracts done under the old CBA. Just look at the $41.5 million in guaranteed money the Lions handed Matthew Stafford this offseason compared to the $22.1 million in guaranteed money the Colts are paying Andrew Luck for his first four seasons. Advantage, Colts.

Teams that hit on quarterbacks early now get a double reward. They get a talented player at the most important position in the sport. And almost as significant, they get financial flexibility that teams with veteran quarterbacks cannot have.

Kaepernick and Wilson are the two biggest bargains in the game, maybe in all of sports. Their talents give their teams a decided advantage in the chase for an NFC championship and Super Bowl berth. Their contracts give their teams another.