As attention shifts from the postseason to the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers are turning their focus to what seems to be the main goal of their spring: extending quarterback Brock Purdy and paying him the money he deserves.
“I know we want Brock to be here for a long time and we’ll do everything we can to make that work,” 49ers owner Jed York said Monday, via the Associated Press, from a ceremony marking the start of preparation for Super Bowl LX, which is set to be held in the Bay Area.
The Niners struck gold in the 2022 NFL Draft when they selected Purdy with the final pick of the event, setting into motion a series of events which would culminate with the rookie earning the starting role partway through the ensuing season and leading the team to the NFC Championship Game.
With three seasons, two playoff runs and a Super Bowl appearance now under Purdy’s belt, he’s eligible for a second contract and the pay raise that accompanies it, and the 49ers have not wavered in their commitment to compensate their 25-year-old franchise QB after getting such a great deal with him so far.
“Brock is just a tremendous human being,” York said. “I’m looking forward to a long-term partnership.”
York acknowledged the process was ongoing, having spoken to Purdy’s agent last week. Both sides have repeatedly made their intention to get a deal done this offseason known, and Purdy said last month that he wanted to get an extension “done quick” so that talks didn’t drag into the 49ers’ offseason program.
That would help the team avoid the protracted contract drama that has dominated the offseason news cycle in past summers, including with Deebo Samuel in 2022 and Brandon Aiyuk last year.
But even with both sides open and operating in good faith, just where Purdy’s salary lands will be of note. He provided the 49ers with an impressive return on investment by leading the team to deep playoff runs in his first two seasons while costing them less than $1 million each year based on the standard rookie rate for a seventh-round pick.
But his third year saw a dip in his production amid team-wide injury woes, finishing with career lows in completion percentage (65.9), passer rating (96.1) and TD-INT ratio (20-12) as San Francisco finished 6-11.
The per-year average for recent signings of top quarterbacks has been in the $50 million-plus range, with nine players averaging at least that amount and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott currently setting the standard at $60 million per year. How Purdy’s most recent season is weighed compared to his initial success could help determine where he lands on that pay scale.
With the expectation that this will get done sooner rather than later, attention can then return to the team’s quest to getting back to the playoffs, and the Super Bowl, after a frustrating 2024 campaign. York expressed his full confidence in his coaches' and team's ability to get back to previous form.
“There’s so much work before you get to that point,” he said. “Obviously it started at the end of the season to get this thing ready and get this thing right and get this thing back on track. There’s no one that I respect more and trust more than (general manager) John Lynch and (head coach) Kyle Shanahan to get us back on track.”