Brock Purdy has been fighting an uphill battle his whole football life. He played college football at Iowa State. While the Cyclones are a strong, underrated program, they’re not known for pumping out NFL talent. This is why, despite leading the Big 12 in passing yards twice, he wound up as Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 NFL Draft.
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The San Francisco 49ers have reaped massive rewards since selecting Purdy with the 262nd overall pick. They’ve reached two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl with Purdy at the helm. But now, the time to pay the piper is coming. And the 49ers, conveniently in the mind of one NFL Network insider, are holding Purdy’s draft pedigree against him.
On Monday’s episode of The Insiders, Mike Garafolo offered his assessment of the 49ers’ ongoing negotiations with Purdy. He believes San Francisco is doing everything possible to keep Purdy’s salary from flying into the stratosphere.
“Negotiations [are] no holds barred sometimes. And this kind of stuff can be held against you… we’re in that period of potential consternation here. But Brock Purdy is going to sit there and say, ‘I don’t care where I was drafted, look at the numbers and look at the fact that I was a Super Bowl quarterback.’ That counts for something.” – Mike Garafolo
Purdy and San Francisco lost Super Bowl LVIII 25-22 in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs. But he had his worst professional season in 2024, tossing only 20 touchdowns and a career-high 12 interceptions. The admittedly incredibly hobbled 49ers also went just 6-9 in Purdy’s starts.
What should Brock Purdy be paid annually?
Brock Purdy’s potential salary isn’t difficult to pin down. Reports suggest the 49ers are set on handing him $50-$55 million per season. Even if that’s not something T.J. Houshmandzadeh would do, Purdy can argue he’s worthy of such a payday. There are five signal-callers making more than $50 million per year who haven’t appeared in a single conference championship.
- Dak Prescott ($60 million)
- Jordan Love ($55 million)
- Trevor Lawrence ($55 million)
- Tua Tagovailoa ($53.1 million)
- Justin Herbert ($52.5 million)
As mentioned, Purdy has reached two conference championships. And he was a fraction away from beating Patrick Mahomes to win the Lombardi Trophy just two years ago. That isn’t insignificant.
At the same time, Purdy failed to elevate San Francisco when injuries struck in 2024. One could argue it wasn’t fair to expect him to because the ailments afflicted his biggest playmakers: Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk. But Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow would not be given the same grace if they were in his shoes.
Just because one person does something doesn’t mean you should. Making a conference championship game would be an immense success for Prescott, Love, Lawrence and Herbert’s organizations. The 49ers have done that plenty of times. They need to get over the hump and win the Super Bowl. And they likely won’t be able to do so if Purdy is paid like them.
Paying Purdy as much as Kyler Murray ($46.1 million) or slightly more would allow San Francisco to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders. A salary in the highest tier would tie their hands. Both player and organization benefit from a deal in this range. That’s where his salary needs to be when he puts pen to paper.
