According to Benjamin Allbright, who covers the Denver Broncos for KOA radio and is well-connected across the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy remain far apart in their contract extension negotiations.
Both sides had hoped the talks would progress smoothly and quickly. However, that doesn't appear to be the case, as no deal seems close.
"I don't think they're close right now," Allbright said Tuesday morning on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game. "I said, as of the Combine, they weren't close at all. But I do believe they want to get a deal done shortly after the draft."
Finalizing a deal after the draft would allow Purdy to participate in on-field work during the 49ers' offseason program, depending on how soon it gets done. Both sides are eager to avoid the contract drama that has dominated headlines in recent years.
"There's a significant gap between the amount of money that he wants and the amount that they put in front of him," Allbright added.
Despite the current gap, Allbright was confident that the two sides would eventually find a mutually beneficial price point. They're just not close right now.
"They're not close in the sense that this isn't like, hey, okay, we need to up this $5 million a year and then we're good," Allbright said. "They're much further apart than that."
Josh Allen recently signed a six-year, $330 million contract extension with the Buffalo Bills, which includes a reported $250 million in guaranteed money. However, another upcoming deal could have a bigger impact on Purdy's negotiations.
"I would say the impending Geno Smith deal is an even bigger inflection point here because he's going to get $40-50 million per year," Allbright noted. "And I think Brock wants to be in or above that range, and I think that the Niners have been less willing to go to that number at this point."
The Seattle Seahawks agreed to trade Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, where he is expected to sign a new deal. Smith is due to earn $31 million in the final year of his contract and reportedly wants $40 million or more per year, which led to his trade.
"It doesn't mean they won't get there. It doesn't mean they won't get it done. It doesn't mean this won't be a thing that they work out. But the market is always going up, and so, if you don't get it done, then you're going to have to keep resetting your number because it's just going to keep going up."
You can listen to the entire Allbright interview below.