The San Francisco 49ers are having their worst year since 2020 when they finished 6-10. Brock Purdy and company fell to 6-8 on Thursday after he completed just 45% of his passes for 142 yards. Injuries have impacted both sides of the ball, but Kyle Shanahan’s offense has slipped to 15th after previously ranking sixth and third in the previous two seasons.
San Francisco’s struggles cannot be ignored, but they come at a bad time for Purdy, who’s sure to enter contract negotiations with the 49ers for the first time in his NFL career since becoming the final selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. Purdy has since developed into a Pro Bowl QB, and now one of the NFL’s most underpaid players wants to cash in.
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Brock Purdy expecting contract at top of market, worth $60M
Brock Purdy’s contract has him set to earn $1.1 million in 2025 before becoming a free agent in 2026. Yet, the San Francisco 49ers will likely want to avoid letting their starting quarterback hit the open market, where prices soar, especially for young quarterbacks.
Thus, Purdy and the 49ers are widely expected to begin negotiating a contract once the 2024 season ends, and with San Francisco not on track to reach the postseason, those talks could begin much earlier than anticipated.
When the two sides do reach the discussion table, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Purdy is expected to seek a contract that makes him among the highest-paid quarterbacks. For Purdy, that means a contract worth $60 million annually.
“Next year is a contract year. If a deal is going to get done, I would anticipate it is at the top of the quarterback market for all the reasons I just said. That’s Dak’s number. That is $60 million per year. Are the 49ers willing to go to that, or are they going to be in a situation where you could have a standoff with your starting quarterback into the offseason?
Tom Pelissero on Brock Purdy contract
There’s no reason for Purdy to take a sub-market deal at this stage. He could always play out his contract. Lamar Jackson did that once upon a time. You gain even more leverage by doing that. Brock also hasn’t made as much money as Lamar by virtue of being a seventh-round draft pick, but I don’t think this is, ‘Hey, we’re going to make you the 10th-highest-paid quarterback,’ and Purdy is saying, ‘Where do I sign?’ Based upon his production, based on the playoff success. I’m sure he feels like he deserves to be paid at the top of the market.”
Purdy is tracking to have a career-worst season in several categories, including completion rate, yards per game, and touchdown rate. While he’s been the NFL’s biggest bargain since the 49ers drafted him in 2022, the 49ers QB is about to get a lot more expensive, but the contract won’t impact their salary cap until it begins, in 2026.
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