Get ready for another prolonged contract negotiation.
Two years ago, the 49ers waited all offseason just to give Nick Bosa everything he wanted. Last year, they did the same thing with Brandon Aiyuk. This year, ESPN’s Dan Graziano expects the 49ers to take their sweet time extending Brock Purdy only to ultimately cave and give him a contract that makes him the second-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL behind Dak Prescott.
“Purdy is earning only about $5.2 million in 2025, which might make him more eager to get a deal done at something closer to the 49ers’ offered number,” writes Graziano. “But while the 49ers can sometimes take a while to get these things done, they haven’t been afraid of paying players such as (Nick) Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk at or near the top of the market for their respective positions. If Purdy wants to push it and stand on his record relative to his peers, don’t be shocked if his eventual extension ends up averaging more than (Trevor) Lawrence’s $55 million.”
And why wouldn’t Purdy want to push it? Why would he accept the 49ers’ initial lowball offer when they’ve shown every year that they always cave in August or September and increase their offer significantly? Ask Bosa, Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Fred Warner, George Kittle and Trent Williams.
I don’t expect Purdy to hold out. He’s the quarterback — holding out would ruin the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes. But I do expect him to wait until August or September to sign his extension even though he said he wanted to sign it as soon as possible.
This is business.
