This is not that hard, but here we are. Brock Purdy has been one of the easiest quarterbacks to root for in the NFL the last few years. The former Iowa State star ended up being the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. In his first three years in the league, San Francisco was one of the best teams in the NFL, but that does not include last year. This is the reason to not pay him a ton.

I will touch on why that is more in a minute, but for now, I have to wrangle a pair of 49ers legend’s comments about the good, but not great quarterback. Clearly, they have grown attached to the former seventh-round pick. He has earned his place in this league as a starting quarterback, but paying him top of the market money would be nothing short of asinine. This would ruin the 49ers.

Here is what 49ers legend Joe Montana had to say to Rich Eisen about if Purdy should get paid.

“Oh, you got to pay him. I mean, I can show you four or five guys in the league making tons of money that haven’t produced anywhere near what he’s been able to do.”

And if that was not enough, here is what Purdy’s 49ers teammate Fred Warner had to say about it.

“If you truly watch the tape and you watch all the other elite quarterbacks in this league, there’s a common thread amongst all of them: The fact that they’re able to process the game at such a high level, able to create plays with their feet, and make the high-level throws up and down the field. Brock Purdy does all these things.”

Montana and Warner talked about Purdy’s ability to process, but he does not elevate in adversity.

“And he was in the MVP conversation a year ago—let’s not forget that he took us to a Super Bowl and he gave us the lead before, obviously, Patrick Mahomes and them took it away from us.

Warner finished his bit on Purdy by saying he is the guy. Of course, he said that. Are you shocked?

“Everybody out there, if you have any questions about Brock Purdy, I’m here to tell you — I’m not biased, I know ball — he’s the guy.”

Whenever you pay a good player great money in a hard salary-capped league, your team suffers.

I am going to keep saying this until I am blue in the face. It does not matter what I say, but the 49ers paying Purdy upwards of $60 million on a new contract is a long road to ruin for this contending franchise. If the 49ers pay him between $40 and $45 million on a new deal, then I am totally okay with that. This is because the NFL is a hard salary-capped league. Every dollar needs to be used wisely.

For example, if the 49ers pay Purdy an extra $20 million annually beyond what he is actually worth, you are denying $20 million in annual cap space that could go to a player is in dire need of a new contract, is grossly underpaid and deserves a new extension. For Purdy to get that much money, he needs to make up the difference that results by essentially foregoing a high-end role player for him.

What I have seen out of Purdy over the last three years is that when things are going well in San Francisco, he can lead a championship-caliber team. When adversity strikes, he goes back to being the quarterback many draft evaluators were so lukewarm on coming out of Iowa State. Even more damning, Purdy has not shown he can elevate to the level of a high-end counterpart in the playoffs.

At the end of the day, you better get what you pay for. The 49ers have gotten tremendous bang for their buck with Purdy. They have made a fortune betting big in a penny stock, but what happens when the company’s valuation is not what meets the eye? Purdy can grow into being a very wealthy quarterback, but we cannot skip steps here. Ask yourself this: Will other teams pay him $60 million?

Purdy is worth $40 to $45 million annually. Anything more than that will tear away at the 49ers’ fabric.