Ex-GM confident 49ers can avoid breaking the bank on Brock Purdy extension
There’s no question the San Francisco 49ers are reaping the benefits of having quarterback Brock Purdy still on a rookie contract.
Eligible for an extension next offseason, Purdy has two more years left on the rookie deal that’s afforded the 49ers an opportunity to pay some of their other stars like edge-rusher Nick Bosa and receiver Deebo Samuel plus sign top free agents like defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
And while Purdy has a strong case to be one of, if not the highest-paid QB in the NFL in 2025, former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum recently stated during an appearance on “NFL Live” that San Francisco might be able to convince Purdy not to reset the market.
“Well, he'll have basically one year left after this year, and then of course, they could franchise him,” Tannenbaum said . “So I don't expect him to be at the very top of the market — the 52-, 53-, 54-million-dollar range — maybe somewhere in the mid-40s, and (they) say to Brock Purdy, ‘We could give you a massive guarantee, a really good average per year, maybe make you top eight or nine, but we're not completely at the top of the market because, again, we could at least wait two more years.’ So I would think they'll find some middle ground.”
San Francisco is getting a steal of a deal on Purdy’s current contract. His 2024 base salary is just $985,000 and his cap hit is only $1.004 million. His 2025 base salary rises slightly to $1.1M and his cap hit will go up to $1.119M.
If the 49ers franchise tag him in 2026 like Tannenbaum suggested, that number (likely in the low-to-mid $40M range) will still be discounted compared to what some of the top passers are making per year.
Tannenbaum floated Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s six-year, $258M contract ($43M per season) as a framework for Purdy’s potential extension. Allen signed the team-friendly deal in 2021, which allowed the Bills to resign tight end Dawson Knox, defensive tackle Ed Oliver, defensive end Shaq Lawson, cornerback Taron Johnson and kicker Tyler Bass plus land notable free agents like edge-rusher Von Miller, center Connor McGovern and guard Rodger Saffold.
“And that's one of the things I would be talking to Brock Purdy about, that, ‘Look, Josh Allen, he did his extension, all those defensive players graduated,” Tannenbaum added. “If we could keep you a little bit lower than that, hopefully, we could keep as much of this core together as possible.’”
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