The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a 6-11 season and have watched as several players have left the organization this offseason. Fans have expressed their frustration at the franchise, which in recent offseasons has shown a willingness to spend money on outside additions to help push the team closer to another Super Bowl title.
It has been a stark contrast the past few months, but this was all by design, according to 49ers owner Jed York.
"We knew that we had to make sacrifices around the roster to make sure that you can pay a quarterback," York told NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo in a one-on-one interview Tuesday from the NFL's Annual League Meeting. "It's just math."
That quarterback, of course, is Brock Purdy. For months now, we've heard how Purdy and the Niners are motivated to get a contract extension done to keep the former Mr. Irrelevant locked in as the team's foundation, even after a disappointing season for him and the team.
Yet nothing has happened to this point while the roster attrition grows. Why?
"I think (contract talks have) been good," York said. "It's not conversations that I'm having. … He's got to make a decision with what he wants to do. I don't think we're that far apart. I think we can sit down and get something done. Whenever he's ready, we're ready."
Technically, the 49ers hold some leverage in negotiations over Purdy, who still has one more season remaining on his extremely affordable rookie deal. So they don't necessarily have to get something done this offseason.
But everything from the 49ers outwardly has been proactive and positive toward rectifying the situation now over later. York even sounded like Purdy's agent at one point in speaking with Garafolo, explaining how several college quarterbacks are actually making more money per year via Name, Image and Likeness benefits than Purdy is with his NFL contract. York even lamented not being able to get something done with his quarterback even sooner than is currently allowed by league rules, after players have accrued three seasons in the league.
"Last year, (Purdy) was the 30th highest-paid college quarterback," York claimed. "So when guys with NIL are making more than a third-year NFL pro, there's something wrong with the system with not being able to extend guys earlier in the NFL."
But both parties must deal with the rules that are in place now, and the 2025 NFL Draft is just a few weeks away. Phase One of the offseason program follows shortly thereafter. York long ago signed off on the team getting something done with Purdy and spoke like a man who believes a deal will eventually get done, even while the lack of updates has frustrated all parties.
"I've been in situations where you have a great roster and the quarterback isn't set, and it's hard to have sustained success," York said. "We want to make sure that Brock is a long-term partner. We want to make sure that he's a part of our team for a long time.
"It's a decision -- I don't know exactly when we made it -- but it was sometime in the middle of the season, knowing that you can start negotiating at the end of the third year, and it's like, 'All right, he's our guy.' And if he's our guy, you have to know that and make those decisions, and that's where we are right now."
