Jed York feels Brock Purdy is a top-10 quarterback right now, and a prominent CBS Sports analyst agrees.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is about to be a very, very rich individual.
Granted, nothing is official yet. But Purdy's camp knows he's about to be paid, perhaps in the range of $50-plus million per year, putting him toward the very top of player salaries entering 2025.
Negotiations are ongoing. But, one of the aspects that's certainly weighing heavily on those talks is where the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft stacks up against his fellow signal-callers around the league.
Opinions vary, going back to an increasingly stale take that Purdy is no more than a system quarterback who was boosted by an all-star cast of players during his magical 2023 season, while others see him as the most stable quarterback the Niners have had since the days of Hall of Famer Steve Young.
Mostly, arguments persist whether or not he's a top-10 quarterback.
Back at the NFL annual meeting, CEO Jed York told reporters he felt Purdy was a top-10 signal-caller, especially paired with head coach Kyle Shanahan and his dynamic offense.
"I think he is," York said when asked about Purdy being in that class. "I think he's great. Especially when you combine him with Kyle, and you combine him with what we have, and he's a heck of a quarterback. And we want him to be here for a long, long time.
While San Francisco would prefer to pay Purdy like he was a top-20 quarterback and not a top-10 one, at least from a financial perspective, another analyst tossed his weight in the signal-caller's camp.
CBS Sports declares Brock Purdy a top-10 quarterback
CBS Sports analyst Cody Benjamin put together a quarterbacking power rankings list entering 2025, which had something of a surprising headliner in the No. 1-ranked Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders.
Purdy, meanwhile, landed at No. 10 on the list, nestled right between the Detroit Lions' Jared Goff (No. 9) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield (No. 11).
Benjamin explained the ranking while also partially justifying what was otherwise a down year for Purdy in 2024:
"Did the injury-propelled woes of San Francisco's 2024 season end up dragging Purdy into mercurial territory? Yes. But he's been superb as Kyle Shanahan's point guard for the majority of his three NFL seasons, and people still don't give him enough credit for the way he extends plays."
From a financial perspective, Purdy will aim to make more than the Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence (No. 18) and the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa (No. 21), who are both in the top six of quarterbacking contracts but are far less accomplished than Purdy.
York, despite wanting to curb spending this offseason, would probably be forced to agree. And that means he'll have to adjust his pocketbook accordingly.
Perhaps Purdy's representatives will take Benjamin's list to the negotiations table, but it's anyone's guess whether or not it'll do any good.