-
Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterJan 21, 2025, 11:00 AM
Close
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Less than 24 hours after the San Francisco 49ers’ season came to a disappointing end, the focus quickly shifted to the story that will dominate offseason headlines — a contract extension for quarterback Brock Purdy.
Purdy, 25, signed a four-year rookie contract with an average annual salary of $934,252 after being drafted with the last pick (No. 262) of the 2022 NFL draft. He is now eligible for an extension.
As his teammates cleaned out lockers, Purdy spent roughly 12 minutes speaking to the media for the first time about the likelihood that he will be given a substantial raise.
Throughout that session, Purdy didn’t offer much about what he’s looking for in his next contract, but he did repeatedly mention how much he’d like to get something done sooner than later.
“If there’s an opportunity to be able to get that done quick, that’d be great,” Purdy said. “Just so we can get back for phase one, get after it with the receivers and our team and just continue to grow.”
Both sides have plenty of motivation to reach a deal quickly. It’s beneficial to both if he’s present and participating in the entire offseason program. While other players have skipped those in recent seasons, it’s different for a quarterback — who needs all the reps and time with his pass catchers he can get.
For Purdy, the peace of mind that comes with a big contract would be welcome, reinforce the 49ers’ belief in him and allow him to focus on preparing for next season.
For the 49ers, signing Purdy quickly would offer cost certainty on what will be their most expensive player, something that should help them in figuring out the rest of the salary cap calculus this offseason. They could also avoid a scenario in which other quarterbacks around the league might push the cost of quarterbacks even higher.
“I expect everyone to be ready to go and excited to really get this going and play some football and that starts with Brock,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Brock is the leader of our team. I’ve loved these three years with Brock. I plan on being with Brock here the whole time I’m here.”
Making that happen figures to be easier said than done. While a quick deal is desirable for both sides, contracts of this magnitude are rarely easy to pull off because of the price tag that goes with them. It might be even more difficult in the case of Purdy, who has outperformed his draft status and the rookie contract that came with it.
Still, there are questions that must be answered in determining where a Purdy contract might land. For starters, does Purdy expect to match or even top the $60 million per year ceiling that the Dallas Cowboys and QB Dak Prescott established in September?
Purdy was asked that question directly in his season-ending availability and didn’t offer a direct answer. He did, however, make it clear he knows the larger his contract is, the more difficult it can be to build out the roster around him.
“I want to win for this organization and everybody here, and I’m not the kind of guy that wants to have any kind of drama associated with anything,” Purdy said. “Obviously, I want to help the team across the board with all the other guys who need to get their deals done but everybody will handle it the right way and how they need to. Like I said, it’s a business, but everybody has their turn and their part with all of it.”
That supporting cast factors into where Purdy’s price might ultimately land. Purdy’s performance has been buoyed by an elite group that includes running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, receivers Deebo Samuel Sr. and Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams. That sextet has a combined 30 Pro Bowl nods and 16 appearances on the first or second All-Pro teams.
Deebo Samuel to stay in San Francisco
Check out some stats behind Deebo Samuel’s career as the 49ers announce they intend to keep him in 2025.
If Purdy does want to offer a little help in keeping the team strong around him, there are some other fair contract comparisons that can be made. In 2024, quarterbacks such as Detroit’s Jared Goff and Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa, who have posted big numbers with plenty of talent around them, have received extensions near the top of the market.
Goff landed a four-year deal worth up to $212 million with $113.6 million fully guaranteed in May ($53 million average) and Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.4 million deal with $93.17 million fully guaranteed in July ($53.1 million average). Tagovailoa and Goff rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the NFL in terms of annual average value.
Given his production in his first three seasons, Purdy has a strong case to get something in that range, perhaps with more fully guaranteed money.
Since becoming the starter in Week 13 of 2022, Purdy ranks fourth among all quarterbacks in QBR (70.2), third in passing yards (9,452), first in yards per attempt (8.9) and seventh in touchdown passes (64). In that time, Purdy recorded the most games with a 120-plus passer rating (13) and 130-plus passer rating (10) of any quarterback in NFL history through his first three seasons.
Purdy has plenty of support from his 49ers teammates.
“I think he’s done such a good job of managing the team,” McCaffrey said. “I’m excited for him, I’m pumped for him and I’m proud of him. [We’re] lucky he’s on our team.”
Had Purdy followed up his record-setting 2023 season with something similar and the 49ers again contended for a Super Bowl, he’d have had every reason to push to reset the market. But that didn’t happen, as many of his aforementioned teammates missed time with injury and as Purdy struggled in inclement weather and in close and late situations.
While he still managed to finish the 2024 season 7th in the NFL in QBR (67.9) in 15 games, his 1.7 touchdown-to-interception ratio was tied for 23rd and a sizable drop from the 2.8 he had in 2023. When trailing in the fourth quarter, Purdy had a 54.6 QBR (20th in the NFL in such situations) and had three touchdowns with five interceptions.
Despite those struggles, the Niners’ confidence in Purdy hasn’t wavered.
“What we know about Brock is that he’s our guy,” general manager John Lynch said. “We have interest in Brock being around here for a long, long time.”
With both sides motivated to get something done, there’s reason to believe an extended holdout the likes of which Aiyuk, Williams and end Nick Bosa have executed in recent seasons won’t happen with Purdy. Of course, if the price goes to a place beyond what the 49ers are comfortable with, they’ve proved repeatedly that they are willing to play hardball.
Asked whether he would hold out of the offseason program if he didn’t have an extension, Purdy said he’s “not really sure.”
Purdy pointed out the business side of things is all new to him. Which means only time will reveal the answers to the many questions that must be answered before his deal is done.
“I’m not really sure what it all is going to look like or entail, but I know that I’m the guy for this organization,” Purdy said. “And that I can do what it takes to help lead us where we want to go and I’m confident in that.”