Trevor Lawrence's new five-year, $275 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars matched the largest contract in NFL history in terms of annual salary, tying Joe Burrow's $55 million-per-year deal. This is great news for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who will be eligible for a contract extension next year.
Purdy is poised to become the 49ers' highest-paid player. For those wondering if his deal might approach Lawrence's and Burrow's numbers, one 49ers insider believes there is no question that Purdy should expect to exceed them.
"I don't think that anyone representing Brock Purdy can look at this contract that Trevor Lawrence signed and think, 'Oh, maybe something approaching that,'" Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area declared on radio station KNBR. "No, it's like, that is now the floor."
Lawrence's and Purdy's NFL journeys could not have been more different. The Jaguars made Lawrence the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021. A year later, Purdy entered the league as "Mr. Irrelevant," the last overall pick in the draft.
Maiocco points out that Purdy has been more productive than Lawrence. The Jaguars' quarterback is 1-1 in postseason action, while Purdy has guided the 49ers to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl.
"When you think about it, Brock Purdy has produced more in his one-and-a-half seasons as the starter than Trevor Lawrence has during his time as the Jaguars' starter," Maiocco continued. "And the contract that Brock Purdy will sign is still 10 months away, up to a year away, so you're going to have another season [before it happens]."
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Of course, Purdy's deal is contingent on him not taking a step back in his third NFL season and continuing to play at a high level. There's no reason to believe that won't happen.
Purdy is enjoying his first full offseason as a starter. He was fighting for a roster spot during his first offseason in 2022. Last year, he was recovering from surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow and didn't throw to his teammates until training camp.
This year, Purdy participated in the 49ers' entire offseason program, taking advantage of the opportunity to learn from his coaches and then put what he's learned into practice on the field.
"Last year, I didn't have that, so now that I'm able to attack those kinds of things, I feel like I've gotten better," Purdy recently stated.
In Maiocco's mind, assuming Purdy can keep things rolling, there is no doubt that the 49ers quarterback can expect a deal bigger than Lawrence's.
"That is a contract that has to be seen as basically the starting point if you're Brock Purdy's agent and you're looking for that deal," Maiocco commented. "I mean, I know NFL teams don't think this way, but there's back pay involved, too, I think, to a degree. Now, I know that when teams sign guys to contracts, it's about what they're going to do going forward, but the key one will be, I think, this offseason, [Dolphins QB] Tua [Tagovailoa] will get done, and [Packers QB] Jordan Love will get done. And those are going to be contracts right there at $55 million or higher.
"And then I think the next deal that'll get done will be in March of next [year], which will be the [Cowboys QB] Dak Prescott contract. And that one's going to be crazy. That one could be $65 million per year."
Maiocco argues that Prescott could be an interesting situation. So far, these newly extended quarterbacks have been negotiating with their current teams. That might not be the case for Prescott, who will likely have multiple suitors, significantly driving up his price.
"Brock Purdy will not get as much as Dak Prescott gets a year from now, but he's going to cash in big time," Maiocco concluded. "There's no question he's going to get a deal in that mid-55, inching up towards the $60 million range."
Regarding a timeline, Maiocco believes Prescott will get his deal from someone in March, and Purdy's contract will come after that. He doesn't believe the 49ers want to prolong the negotiations, as they have with other star players in recent years, including wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk this offseason. The team needs to have Purdy practicing during the offseason program and training camp.
Maiocco also believes that missing those practices wouldn't sit well with Purdy, so the quarterback's deal will likely be done sooner rather than later.
"I think it'll get done maybe around the draft time, maybe right before the start of the offseason program. To me, that would be kind of the timetable," he added.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Maiocco below.