A 49ers-Chiefs matchup in the Super Bowl is nothing new to Charvarius Ward.
But being on the 49ers’ side now for Super Bowl 2024 instead of on the Chiefs’ side — like he was four years ago in Super Bowl 2020 — isn’t just new.
“It’s better over here,” Ward said. “In every way possible.”
The Second-Team All-Pro cornerback didn’t elaborate further but still claimed no hard feelings toward the Chiefs or head coach Andy Reid, who let him leave in free agency for the three-year, $40.5 million contract that he signed in March 2022.
He earned $5.5 million over four years with the Chiefs, according to spotrac.com.
“I just feel like they didn’t have enough money to compensate me,” Ward said. “I did want to stay. They wanted me to stay. Coach Reid made it pretty clear. But I had to get my bag.
“I was young. I was in the league, but I wasn’t rich yet. I needed my money. The 49ers were a great team as well — a Super Bowl contender — and they gave me the bag, so I’m thankful.”
Ward went undrafted in 2018 and was traded by his first team (Cowboys) for a backup offensive lineman but developed into a starter by his second season under Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
He had four tackles and played 98 percent of the defensive snaps when the Chiefs rallied to win their first Super Bowl in 50 years.
“[The 49ers] thought they were going to beat us,” Ward said, slipping back into a Chiefs’ “us and we” mindset for a minute. “They thought they let the game slip, but I thought we had the better team back then. And I feel like we have a better team overall with the 49ers now. I really mean that.”
Then again, if his team switch was in reverse order, it’s hard to imagine he would feel that he was on the inferior team now.
Most of the 49ers have unfinished business from that blown 10-point fourth-quarter lead.
Ward doesn’t, but he has his own motivation against many of his old friends, teammates sense.
“He’s been an incredible player for us,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “And I think he wants some payback, so we’re going to have to try to help him get it.”
It’s a rare thing that a team loses a player of the 27-year-old Ward’s ascending ability and comes out just as good at the position on the other side.
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But the Chiefs had L’Jarius Sneed — who started 15 games across from Ward in 2021 — waiting in the wings to ascend to one of the NFL’s most physical, shutdown cornerbacks, and they drafted First-Team All-Pro Trent McDuffie to play in the slot just a month after Ward’s departure.
“I wouldn’t say they made a mistake, because they won the Super Bowl the year that I left them,” Ward said. “They are doing something right over there. It was a great addition for the 49ers to bring me on, though.”
The irony is that there is a perception around the NFL — emphasized by Chiefs teammates — that Sneed was the league’s biggest All-Pro snub.
The spot likely went instead to Ward, given that the Jets’ Sauce Gardner and Cowboys’ DaRon Bland were the First-Team outside cornerbacks and the other Second-Teamer, the Bears’ Jaylon Johnson, was the NFL’s top-ranked cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I think Sneed is one of the best corners in the game,” Ward said. “He will hit you like a linebacker and cover like a corner. He’s going to get his recognition sooner rather than later. I don’t know if I mentored him, but I’m pretty sure he took little tips from my game, and I took some tips from his game.”
All of that shared knowledge will be on display Sunday.
