SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — After watching drama-filled offseasons when it came to contract negotiations the past two years with his San Francisco 49ers teammates, Brock Purdy was intent on doing his best to avoid a repeat in his situation.
Purdy and the 49ers managed to do just that when they agreed on a five-year extension worth $265 million following talks that had had no public acrimony.
Purdy described said the initial offer from the 49ers as “respectful” and made a point of showing up to the start of the offseason program last month as a sign of good faith. That all led to the deal getting finalized before the 49ers begin on-field practices this spring with an extension that makes Purdy one of the top 10 paid quarterbacks in the NFL but doesn’t handcuff the team from building a strong roster around him.
“I think where we ended up was exactly where we needed to be,” Purdy said Wednesday. “I’m extremely happy with where we ended and I know the Niners are too. With that being said, for me it’s all about football now. However they use the cap space and all that kind of stuff, that’s not my job. My job is to now go and win games and lead this team. But I’m extremely happy and grateful for where we ended.”
It’s been quite a journey for Purdy, who was lightly recruited out of high school and then picked last in 2022 after a strong college career at Iowa State.
But the player once known as “Mr. Irrelevant” because of his draft status has proved himself worthy of a contract on par with quarterbacks who entered the league with higher pedigree after helping the Niners reach the Super Bowl in his first full season as a starter in 2023.
“There’s 32 starting quarterbacks and those guys, like it’s not the easiest job in the world,” he said. “For me, with what I’ve done and everything, I could hang my hat on the fact that I’ve had success in this league and I’m capable of leading an organization all the way to the end, the Super Bowl. I proved that. I know who I am and I’m going to obviously want to get what I deserve, but also surround myself, like I said, with guys around me and not just try to take every penny for myself. But that’s the whole point of negotiating, you go throughout that you try to meet in the middle ground.”
Purdy has made less than $1 million a year for his first three seasons and was set to get a small raise in 2025 to about $5.2 million under the league’s proven performance escalator for making the Pro Bowl last season.
Purdy’s success helped rescue the Niners from a potentially catastrophic mistake after they traded three first-round picks to draft Trey Lance third overall in 2021, only to watch him struggle before getting traded away in 2023.
He took over as starter late in his rookie season. He won the final five starts of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs before suffering a serious injury to his throwing elbow early in an NFC title game loss to Philadelphia that season.
Purdy had one of the most prolific passing seasons in team history in 2023 when he finished fourth in the NFL in MVP voting and helped the team reach the Super Bowl before losing in overtime to Kansas City.
He set a franchise record for yards passing (4,280) and became the first Niners QB in more than two decades to throw at least 30 TD passes (31). Purdy led the NFL with a 113 passer rating and his 9.6 yards per attempt were the most in the NFL for a qualifying QB since Kurt Warner had 9.9 in 2000.
That success was harder to come by in 2024 as Purdy was hampered by injuries to key offensive players like Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk. His passer rating dropped nearly 17 points to 96.1, he had only 20 TD passes and 12 interceptions on the season, and also came up short in several late-game scenarios when the 49ers had a chance for a comeback win.
Purdy’s play was part of a team-wide downturn that led to a 6-11 record and the first missed playoff appearance for San Francisco since 2020. That was one reason why he wanted to make sure he was part of the entire offseason program to help engineer a rebound.
“Everybody’s bought in right now and we’re excited, obviously, to do more team activities and stuff as we move along the offseason,” he said. “It’s hard to explain, but the young guys, the older guys, everybody is bringing it right now and I think it’s just so important that we’re just around each other a lot doing little different activities and continuing to build chemistry.”
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