One chapter of Brock Purdy’s journey with the San Francisco 49ers will end this offseason, and it will be up to the quarterback and his team how the next chapter begins.
For the first three years of his career, Purdy was a market inefficiency. He was a star-level, borderline elite NFL quarterback getting paid virtually nothing. Through three seasons, the 49ers have only had to account for $2.9 million in total base salary.
Now, Purdy is eligible for an extension, though he’s still under contract for one more year. If the 49ers don’t give him that extension, they’re basically telling Purdy they don’t believe in him to be their long-term starter.
How much will that extension cost? And when, if ever, will a resolution come? One 49ers insider dove into that very question in a recent column.
On Friday, Tim Kawakami of the SF Standard predicted that the 49ers would eventually sign Purdy to an approximately $50 million-per-year extension in late May, after some back-and-forth between the two sides over the QB’s perceived value.
“Not long ago, I was projecting an early-April resolution to this situation,” Kawakami wrote. “But even then, I thought that there could be some problems, particularly if the 49ers started mentioning that there’s no rush because Purdy’s already under contract for $5.2 million this season. And, well, we are very much starting to hear that, including from Lynch himself last week.”
“Almost all good QB1s get new deals when they’re eligible for one–unless the team doesn’t think the QB is all that valuable… I think Purdy will seek something near $50 million a year or more. I think he’s earned the right to demand it. I think the 49ers can get there.”
Purdy, 25, has certainly earned a lot of credibility. He made the Pro Bowl in 2023, leading the NFL in Total QBR and yards per attempt that season, and he’s 27-15 as a starter so far, including playoffs.
The question, though, is whether or not Purdy can maintain elite production if and when the 49ers are no longer able to put an elite offensive roster together around him. They offloaded wideout Deebo Samuel in a trade this offseason and could stand to lose other key pieces in years to come thanks to the strain a $50-plus million deal would put on the payroll.
It’s all a difficult situation to sort through. And the longer it plays out, the more uncertainty will start to creep into the equation.