There are handful of significant question marks surrounding Brock Purdy’s impending contract extension.
While the matter of how much he’ll be paid is at the forefront of the discussion, when he gets the deal also has some ramifications for a club that fell short in 2024 after an offseason full of contractual tumult.
After dealing with lengthy contract negotiations for defensive end Nick Bosa and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk the last two offseasons, it stands to reason the 49ers would want to avoid getting into a prolonged battle with their franchise quarterback.
General manager John Lynch expressed a desire to get both of those contracts done sooner than later, but the 49ers played hardball and ultimately saw them take all of the preseason. He expressed a similar desire with Purdy’s deal in his end-of-season press conference.
“We have every interest in him being around,” said Lynch. “The way this thing goes, these press conferences are necessary, but always kind of silly because Kyle’s coaching, we spend time together all the time and there are big issues that affect the team, but he’s just getting off coaching. He’s had his door shut for two days doing exit interviews. We were just up, but we were talking about our players. We’ll have some time here in the coming weeks to sit together and put our whole plan together. That’s obviously a priority, that position, and we’ll give it that attention.”
It may be tough to believe a 49ers front office that has typically taken its time with big-money contracts, there’s some optimism that a deal for the signal caller may come down sooner thanks to how they operated with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract.
Garoppolo’s contract extension was first reported February 8, 2018 – well before the start of free agency.
The circumstances are different, to be sure. Purdy has two-plus seasons under his belt as the starter and has one year left on his rookie deal. Garoppolo started just five games for the 49ers in 2017 after they acquired him for a second-round pick. He was due to hit free agency, but San Francisco could have used the franchise tag.
The club also has a different cap situation now with more highly-paid players, but they have room to fit a top-of-market deal onto their books, and the last time they had to get a QB deal done they wasted no time in doing so.
Purdy’s contract may not get done in early February. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see it come down either before or shortly after free agency begins though. Doing so would ensure he’s in the building for all of the offseason and training camp. Avoiding a prolonged contractual spat with their QB would also put the 49ers on the right track toward bouncing back in 2025 while avoiding some of the issues that derailed them before the 2024 season even kicked off.