The San Francisco 49ers have seen many of their players from 2024 released or depart in free agency. Prior reporting, and confirmation from team owner Jed York, suggests that these developments occurred because the 49ers want to give quarterback Brock Purdy a massive contract extension.
Purdy’s rise to relevance, and perhaps some would say prominence, in the NFL is well documented. The very last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, former “Mr. Irrelevant” (the term given to every draft’s final selection) ended up starting for San Francisco due to injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.
A year later, in 2023, Purdy completed 69.4% of his passes for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and an NFL-leading 113.0 passer rating. He made the Pro Bowl and finished fourth in NFL MVP voting.
Last season, Purdy and the 49ers felt the sting of a plethora of injuries on the offensive side of the ball. The star quarterback saw his production drop, but San Francisco remains confident that he is an elite arm talent in the league. So much so that, according to one NFL analyst, they are about to grossly overpay him.
The San Francisco 49ers Are Going to Give Brock Purdy a Massive Contract Extension
As the final pick in the NFL Draft, Purdy was not guaranteed much of a salary and has not made anything close to what other starting NFL quarterbacks make. He signed a four-year $3.7 million when he was drafted, an average of $934,000 per season. Only $77,008 of it was guaranteed when he signed.
And while $934,000 is a lot of money, it is not anywhere close to what other starters around the NFL are making. Last offseason alone saw multiple starting quarterbacks sign contract extensions that will pay them more than $50 million a year.
When those contracts, signed by Jordan Love, Tua Tagovailoa, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, and Trevor Lawrence, were finalized, many fans questioned if each respective quarterback was worth such a hefty investment. But, as unbelievable as it may be, that is the going rate for top-tier (and apparently border-line top-tier) starters in the NFL these days.
And since San Francisco clearly believes Purdy is a top-tier starter, they intend to pay him as such. This is something Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk does not think is a great idea.
“Under coach Kyle Shanahan and G.M. John Lynch, it took the 49ers six years to find an answer at the quarterback position,” Florio wrote. “Now that they have one, it feels as if they’re preparing to grossly overpay him.
“This isn’t an anti-Brock Purdy take. It’s a realistic assessment of the market, the salary cap, and Purdy’s value if/when he were available to be signed by any other team.
“None of that really matters, however. Because the 49ers seem to have willingly painted themselves into a corner, while also making their haphazard brushwork a built-in excuse for the regression to come.”
Florio argues that San Francisco should use the $40 million franchise tag on Purdy, twice if need be, instead of signing him to an extension now. He argues that this will save them $20+ million a year (as Purdy is expected to get $60 million or more annually) and will give them team time to make a more informed decision on whether or not the former seventh round pick is really their answer at quarterback.
Clearly, though, the 49ers think he is.
