Brock Purdy has famously been the NFL’s best value contract since taking over as the starting QB for the San Francisco 49ers as a rookie in 2022. His low salary allowed the team to load up on talent, leading to a trip to Super Bowl 58 (where the 49ers came up short). However, the bill is about to come due, with Purdy’s rookie contract set to expire after the 2025 season.
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At the moment, both sides continue to be amicable and confident that a deal will get done. However, NBC Bay Area sports insider Matt Maiocco recently reported that his sources are telling him that “it doesn’t sound like anything’s close.” And that makes sense, considering how the quarterback market has exploded in recent years.
The biggest of those is the four-year, $240 million doozy Dak Prescott signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Purdy and his team might aim to match, or even surpass, that mark. However, if the 49ers take advice from Colin Cowherd, that may not happen.
Cowherd recently broke down the similarities — both good and bad — between Prescott and Purdy and explained why a lucrative extension for the latter could cost the 49ers.
“San Francisco, look at the Cowboys. Learn from what happened to Dallas. The minute they paid big money for Dak, they’ve never been a Super Bowl team,” said the analyst.
“The Dak-Purdy comps are very similar. They both come in as lower-round draft picks. Cheap labour. They get starts because of injuries to other quarterbacks. Teammates like him, good guys. They have very strong run games, good o-lines. They win a lot,” Cowherd added.
Those are all the positives. But the negatives are what really link these two quarterbacks for Cowherd. And, most importantly, they give the 49ers a test case they can learn from.
“But boy, when they lose a key offensive performer, they don’t elevate average people. They don’t carry average players. Both are dependent on the advantages of their roster. Dallas, just look, lower pick, big brand, you win some regular season games, it’s a B talent. But it’s one thing to learn from your mistakes; it’s much better to learn from other people’s mistakes,” continued the polarizing analyst.
Cowherd’s argument is surprisingly convincing. Purdy and Prescott do share similar backgrounds and team situations. The key difference is that the Cowboys quarterback has never reached the NFC Championship in nine years, while Purdy has been there twice in three years, including a win in 2023. Whether that makes him a better QB is still unclear, but it’s certainly not irrelevant.
The caption Cowherd penned with his podcast clip had the caption “Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott are the exact same player.” But he never actually says that in the clip, though he does draw many parallels.
Cowboys fans who likely did not watch the clip and just read the caption were none too please. One reminded Cowherd, “No two people are the exact same, dip sh*t” and another compared him to Joe Biden: “Colin cowherd and Joe Biden are the exact same person. R****ded and old.”
Others claimed, and not for the first time, that Cowherd simply didn’t know what he was talking about. One wrote, “Dak got paid and won like 36 games in 3 seasons. You don’t even know what you’re spouting,” while another remembered that,
“This clown thought Prescott was a TE coming out in 16. Then he goes on to win Rookie of the Year. An All-Pro and runner-up for MVP. Still waiting for Stafford to be an AP.”
This clown thought Prescott was a TE coming out in 16. Then he goes on to win Rookie of the year. An All Pro and runner up for MVP. Still waiting for Stafford to be an AP.
— Andrew (@AsDrewstar76) April 19, 2025
At the end of the day, neither Purdy nor Prescott has had a marquee playoff performance where they were the sole catalyst for a big win. They’ve always had plenty of help when they’ve found success.
When Purdy didn’t have his key players last year, he certainly didn’t look like a guy worth $50 million a year, let alone $60 million. But hey, neither did Trevor Lawrence or Prescott, and that didn’t stop them from landing record deals.
