The 49ers made it clear to Brock Purdy‘s camp early during extension talks no NFL salary record would be set with this contract. Although a spring report indicated Purdy had aimed to smash Dak Prescott‘s AAV record, the fourth-year 49ers quarterback offered a conflicting rundown of how talks proceeded.
Though, Purdy’s assessment of his goal for his second contract did confirm prior reporting on benchmarks. The cashflow and guarantee components certainly mattered greatly to the seventh-round success story, who is now tied to a five-year, $265MM extension ($100MM fully guaranteed). But he disputes the May offering that suggested he pursued a $65MM-per-year deal.
“Everyone talks about what you’re getting paid per year and that’s important to a degree, but obviously if you can manage to get money that’s guaranteed, that’s something that everyone values a lot,” Purdy said, via ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner. “We didn’t need to break the market by getting 60-plus and have all this record-breaking stuff. That’s not what we were aiming for.”
Matching Jared Goff‘s $53MM-AAV number, Purdy secured more in total guarantees ($182.55MM-$170.61MM) than the Lions QB. Though, he needed to bend on short-term cashflow as well. Purdy’s $165.1MM cashflow through four years betters Goff’s number, but the Lions QB has Purdy’s deal beat at the second- and third-year marks.
Purdy secured a Patrick Mahomes-like rolling guarantee structure, representing an important component — along with a no-trade clause — in this deal. A $55.1MM 2028 payout will become guaranteed April 1, 2027. The 49ers are due to pay out a $7.2MM guarantee for 2029 on April 1, 2028. These key dates follow the $100MM at-signing guarantee.
Purdy also referenced Trevor Lawrence‘s five-year, $275MM Jaguars deal as a possible comp. While the 49ers did not go to the $55MM-per-year level the Jaguars did for their passer — one who does not have a season like Purdy’s 2023 on his resume — they provided the no-trade clause Lawrence lacks. The Purdy camp also saw the Bills reward Josh Allen, despite four more seasons remaining on his previous contract, after his MVP season. Those two deals, unlike last year, became the only two top-market QB contracts handed out this offseason. Allen secured what amounted to a two-year add-on, but the Buffalo superstar is now at $55MM AAV.
“Josh Allen was going into his third contract, and I’m going into my second contract and obviously looking at Trevor and what he got done last year with his deal,” Purdy said. “You look at contracts and you compare, and you’re not disrespecting any [other quarterbacks] or anything. … You look at all those things and you negotiate ’em and you try to meet in the middle somewhere.”
To help find a middle ground, Kyle Shanahan stepped in. The ninth-year 49ers HC is not a regular in contract negotiations, even though he is the 49ers’ top decision-maker, Wagoner adds. As Purdy considered skipping the start of the 49ers’ offseason program, Shanahan called to provide reassurance for the ascending player regarding his long-term status with the franchise.
That call preceded the mid-May agreement, one the 49ers hammered out well before their usual extension endpoint. This offseason brought a welcome change for the team in that regard, as George Kittle and Fred Warner‘s re-ups were done before June.
The 49ers lost three All-Pros on offense last season, with Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams going down. Purdy still ranked seventh in QBR, though his season did not closely remind of his breakthrough 2023 campaign. Locking in a deal now also proves beneficial, as the 49ers will not have Aiyuk for a chunk of this season. Jauan Jennings is also battling an injury (amid an extension quest), while Demarcus Robinson received a three-game suspension. As a result, Purdy’s skill-position crew will again be shorthanded, underlining the importance of the early guarantee.