On Tuesday, NFL insider Jason La Canfora claimed that the San Francisco 49ers' initial contract extension offer to quarterback Brock Purdy was worth $45 million annually—significantly lower than what most expect the two sides to eventually agree upon.
Of course, negotiations are still in the early stages. Both parties are eager to reach a deal quickly, hoping to avoid the prolonged contract drama that has plagued the team in previous years. In 2023, defensive end Nick Bosa's contract talks dragged on until just days before Week 1. Last year, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk didn't finalize his deal until just before the regular season began.
As the team's starting quarterback, Purdy missing offseason practices could be detrimental to a franchise looking to rebound from a disappointing 6-11 season.
When asked in January whether a holdout over contract negotiations was a possibility, Purdy responded, "I'm not really sure, as of now. But like I said before, I want to get back to work as soon as I can with the guys, so hopefully, something would get done sooner rather than later."
However, ESPN insider Adam Schefter believes the process may take longer than Purdy hopes.
"That's (the contract negotiations) going to take a while, I believe, to get done," Schefter said this week on his podcast. "It's not a simple solution."
Schefter noted that Purdy is under contract through the upcoming season and is set to earn approximately $5 million. The 49ers also have the option to use the franchise tag in both 2026 and 2027, effectively keeping the quarterback under team control for three more years.
According to Schefter, those two franchise-tagged seasons could cost an estimated $92 million, bringing Purdy's total earnings over the next three years to around $97 million.
"So that would be essentially $97 million over the next three years, which is great, but by quarterback standards, it's not great," Schefter explained. "And so Brock Purdy probably—or at least his agent probably—would be disappointed to have to play for $97 million over the next three years.
"But the Niners have his rights, so they're going to try to get done a deal, but the deal is not going to be where Brock Purdy is a free agent, and he's on the open market because he's not.
"So this, again, is a complicated, nuanced deal to get done, and it's going to take some time, I believe, for both sides to work through to see if they can get a deal done this offseason, which isn't a lock."
Schefter emphasized that while the 49ers want to retain Purdy, their financial flexibility is limited due to several massive contracts handed out in recent years.
You can listen to the entire podcast episode below.
