How Brock Purdy will squeeze every penny from 49ers in upcoming contract talks

Brock Purdy reportedly won't accept anything less than top dollar from the 49ers on a new contract, and here's how he can accomplish that.

Don't expect quarterback Brock Purdy to accept a team-friendly contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, speaking on The Rich Eisen Show (h/t 49ers Webzone), Purdy is looking to get a top-of-the-market contract when he and the Niners engage in extension conversations this offseason.

And that won't be cheap.

"If a deal is going to get done, I would anticipate it is at the top of the quarterback market for all the reasons that I just said," Pelissero said. "Right now, that's number. That is $60 million per year.

"Are the 49ers willing to go to that or are they going to be in a situation where you could have a standoff with your starting quarterback into the offseason here?"

Pelissero also stressed Purdy wouldn't likely sign a deal that would make him the "10th highest-paid quarterback."

Sure, there could be a scenario where Purdy realizes the Niners could build a better team around him if he takes less money. And there are some who feel Purdy's humble demeanor wouldn't proverbially chase the money either.

Plus, in light of his 2024 regression, perhaps San Francisco has some leverage of its own.

Not as much as Purdy, though. And here's how he can secure his bag with a lot of cash in it.

Brock Purdy's full body of work will maximize his contract value

If Purdy was negotiating strictly off his 2024 numbers, the amount of money he'd take home on a new deal wouldn't come close to reaching Prescott-level payouts.

But, the final pick from the 2022 NFL Draft has a pretty impressive résumé dating back to when he became a starter late in his rookie year, setting all kinds of franchise and league records in the years since.

Without summing those up (go do a Google search), Pelissero pretty much described this aspect and how it'll impact contract talks.

"In his short career, because he took over as a seventh-round pick, and took over late in the 2022 season, he's already got 13 games with 120 passer rating, which is the most of any player ever over their first three seasons here," Pelissero added. "The efficiency numbers are really strong on him, and he's been a part of four playoff wins."

Purdy already saved the 49ers immense amounts of money by playing on the cheapest contract possible from the 2022 draft, so he's done his part of doing favors.

Now, he'll get to cash in and let the Niners do him a favor.

And yet that's not the only reason why Purdy won't hesitate to seek out top dollar.

Brock Purdy saved 49ers from the Trey Lance debacle

A year prior to Purdy being drafted, the Niners aggressively moved up to select quarterback Trey Lance at No. 3 overall in the 2021 draft, which was a hinge-all-your-hopes kind of move for the franchise at the time.

Lance, of course, floundered. Not only did he suffer a devastating ankle injury early in 2022 that ended his season, but he ultimately started just four games in the Bay Area before being unceremoniously shipped off to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023 following Purdy's ascent.

Now, imagine if Purdy never turned into, well... the Purdy fans have seen since 2022.

The Lance acquisition was bad enough, but it could have potentially set San Francisco back for years, reigniting yet another search for a long-term option under center. It also could have possibly endangered job security for both head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, too, although it's impossible to know what CEO Jed York would have done if Purdy never ascended and Lance would have been given a longer leash to develop.

Either way, Purdy knows he helped bail out Shanahan and Lynch from the Lance disaster, and that'll assuredly figure into contract talks.

If you thought that was the final reason why Purdy will get his, though, you're wrong. There's still another factor at play.

Brock Purdy understands market value

Fans can chime in as much as they want with regard to how much money they think Purdy is worth.

$25 million per year? $30 million per year? $40 million? More?

But, as former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman pointed out on his podcast, that's not the way the NFL works:

Related story: Team-friendly Brock Purdy extension would change everything for 49ers

What's an above-average starter's value to a team that has relatively few other options to replace him under center if he ultimately departs? And what would his value be on the open market?

The 2025 free-agent and NFL Draft quarterback classes aren't exactly projected to be great, and there are likely to be more quarterback-needy teams than an abundance of qualified signal-callers, which only serves to drive up Purdy's market value.

As Sherman pointed out, the Niners would have to boast a decent contingency plan if they wanted to lowball Purdy in conversations, knowing fully well he could refuse a deal that isn't to his liking while leading to the kind of standoff Pelissero described.

Sherman concluded by saying, "Unless you're willing to move on from Brock Purdy, they're going to be paying him $50-plus million."

Are there any realistic signs that San Francisco wants to move on from Purdy?

None yet. And Purdy knows that, too.

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