Brock Purdy is poised to become the highest-paid player for the San Francisco 49ers next year. That's when the team can begin contract extension negotiations. There's ongoing speculation about where Purdy's impending mega-deal will land compared to the contracts of other elite quarterbacks. While some anticipate he could command the highest salary in the league, especially if he replicates his stellar 2023 performance, others suggest he deserves to be handsomely paid, but without necessarily topping the market.
Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum, currently an ESPN analyst, offered his viewpoint on "NFL Live," outlining why he thinks it's advantageous for both Purdy and the 49ers if the quarterback doesn't demand the highest salary in the league.
"Well, he'll have, basically, one year left after this year, and then, of course, they could franchise him," Tannenbaum explains. "So I don't expect him to be at the very top of the market, the 52, 53, 54 million dollar range. Maybe somewhere in the mid-40s, and say to Brock Purdy, 'We could give you a massive guarantee, a really good average per year, maybe make you top eight or nine, but we're not completely at the top of the market because, again, we could at least wait two more years.'
"So I would think they'll find some middle ground. ... If you could keep Brandon Aiyuk as a number one, that'd be great. And that's one of the things I would be talking to Brock Purdy about, that, 'Look, [Bills QB] Josh Allen, he did his extension. All those defensive players graduated (left to other teams). If we could keep you a little bit lower than that, hopefully, we could keep as much of this core together as possible.'"
.@realtannenbaum on how the 49ers may approach Brock Purdy's future deal 👀 pic.twitter.com/kOcS8oyi5D
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 2, 2024
There are ways for the 49ers to compensate Purdy appropriately while retaining a competitive roster. As Tannenbaum noted, Purdy is under contract until the 2025 season, with his extension likely to feature a smaller salary cap figure in its initial 2026 year, gradually increasing over the contract's duration. This approach enables the 49ers to sustain their core player group for a little longer.
However, none of that is on the 49ers quarterback's mind right now. He remains focused on the upcoming season and guiding his team back to the Super Bowl for another opportunity at a championship.
"I'm trying to win this year and do everything I can for this organization this year," Purdy recently stressed. "Everything else happens how it happens. But for me, I need to get better from last year, on the film, and the things that I saw from last year. My rookie year, it's like I've got this thing in me where I want to continue to master my craft, and that's that.
"It's a business, obviously, too. But for me, I love this game. I love just competing with these guys in this organization. I love this organization, and I want to continue to represent myself for them, and in the right way. So that's where I'm at with that. Getting too caught up in all that kind of stuff is, for me, that's nonsense. So, just taking it one day at a time and getting better."
While the 49ers fell just short of a Super Bowl victory last season, Purdy is coming off an impressive 2023 campaign that saw the quarterback throw for 4,280 passing yards, a new single-season franchise record. Financial security won't be a concern if Purdy's play keeps trending upward. However, his ultimate goal remains triumphantly lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
