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Purdy is coming off an impressive campaign. Last season, he threw a single-season franchise record 4,280 passing yards and led the NFL with a 113.0 passer rating. It was his first full season as a starter, and the young quarterback was coming off major offseason surgery to his throwing arm.
Critics often attribute Purdy's success to his talented supporting cast and head coach Kyle Shanahan's system. However, within the organization, there is no doubt that the team wouldn't have reached the Super Bowl last season without Purdy at the helm.
Purdy will be eligible for a contract extension after the upcoming season, which promises to be massive. The quarterback will undoubtedly become the 49ers' highest-paid player. If he turns in another impressive performance in 2024, he'll likely become one of the league's highest-paid players—if not the highest-paid player.
Currently, quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals have the NFL's highest average salaries, at $55 million annually. Purdy will surpass that figure.
As the last overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy earned a four-year, $3.74 million rookie deal. His 2024 salary will be about $1 million, a bargain for a battle-tested Pro Bowl quarterback.
The quarterback market value is expected to rise before the end of the next offseason. The 49ers likely can't afford to drag out the negotiation process, as they did with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk this offseason, which could cost them significantly more money. Barnwell predicts players like Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys could command over $60 million annually.
Where does all of that leave Purdy? Barnwell estimates that the 49ers quarterback could be in line for a five-year deal worth $325 million, or a staggering $65 million per season.
"It's always possible the quarterback could take some semblance of a reduced salary to try to make life easier for his team, but after making just $2.6 million over the first three years of his existing deal, I'm not sure why he would be willing to cut the 49ers any slack," Barnwell wrote.
"I don't get caught up on how much money that is," Shanahan shared this week. "I get caught up on that's how much a starting quarterback costs within the realm of it. ... And then you look at it, and that's kind of where I keep it. I don't try to say that's so much more than it used to be. I try to look at it as, that's just the market. Now you got to figure it from an organizational standpoint, the cash, all that stuff, which is a huge deal."
These financial details have created two challenging contract situations as the 49ers kicked off training camp. In addition to Aiyuk, who requested a trade last week, tackle Trent Williams seeks more financial assurances and did not report to camp, making him a "holdout." Aiyuk did show up after requesting a trade last week but isn't participating in practices, effectively making him a "hold-in."
These situations were inevitable for the 49ers, who boast one of the NFL's most talented rosters. The challenge now is keeping it all together while paying top-tier money at the most expensive position in the game.
