The San Francisco 49ers have one of the trickiest contract extension decisions in the NFL: deciding what to do with starting QB Brock Purdy.

Purdy will be in the final year of his rookie deal in 2025. As the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, his contract has allowed the 49ers to focus on building a contender around him, with a cap hit of just $1.1 million next season.

Now, Purdy’s deal is coming to an end, and the league’s passer rating leader in 2023 is hoping for a big payday. The 49ers have made it clear that they’re determined to keep Purdy in the Bay Area for the foreseeable future.

“I think what we know about Brock is that he’s our guy,” 49ers GM John Lynch told reporters Wednesday. “We have interest in Brock being around here for a long, long time. He’s done so much for our organization; he’s won big games and had a little tougher task as we all did this year with some of the things that happened throughout the course of the year.”

Despite the mutual interest in completing the deal, the 49ers will be trying to find the best value. Let’s examine whether Purdy is worth bringing back and what kind of money he could be looking at based on his on-field value.

Is Brock Purdy Worth Extending?

Before even discussing what Purdy could make on his deal, it’s at least worth discussing whether the 25-year-old quarterback is worth keeping around.

The arguments against Purdy have been discussed for years at this point. There’s still a perception that this late-round pick, who is only 6-foot-1, was lifted up by the supporting cast around him and that, in reality, he’s incapable of being a long-term starter in the NFL.

However, the numbers tell a completely different story. In three seasons, he’s thrown for 9,518 yards, 64 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions. His passer rating of 104.9 would be the highest in NFL history at its current pace, ahead of Aaron Rodgers at 102.6.

Even the advanced metrics are impressed with Purdy’s body of work. According to TruMedia, Purdy has been the best quarterback in the league in the last three seasons in EPA per dropback and adjusted net yards per pass attempt.

It’s not even like Purdy’s efficiency dropped that much in 2024 with injuries to Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, and multiple other key players on offense. According to NFELO, Purdy still ranked in the top 10 among starting quarterbacks in EPA per dropback, ANY/A, and success rate.

Purdy has also appeared to improve as a runner this season, or at least taken off more frequently. He ran the ball 66 times for 323 yards and five touchdowns, showing an increased willingness to take off with his legs when he couldn’t find anyone open.

Saying that Purdy “lacks talent” is a lazy take when discussing his ability as a passer. He is an excellent processor of what’s happening in front of him, throwing with impressive anticipation while being able to hit tight-window throws like this one.

Critics will continue to claim that Purdy is overrated, but the stats and film show that the young 49ers quarterback is, at the very least, one of the best 10-15 quarterbacks in the league.

How Much Is Purdy Worth?

Another team could be willing to give Purdy top-of-market money in 2026 if he hits free agency. However, the 49ers could get a more appropriate contract for their starting quarterback if they can agree to an extension before next offseason.

According to Over the Cap, the top quarterbacks all make between $51-60 million in average annual value. That tier includes certified superstars like Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, as well as some ascending younger players like Jordan Love, Justin Herbert, and Trevor Lawrence.

While Purdy deserves to be in that top-10 conversation as far as annual money, that would severely constrict San Francisco’s future cap space. The 49ers rank 28th in the league with just $74 million in cap space for 2026 and 30th in cap space for 2027. An extension in the $50 million range would take more than two-thirds of that remaining cap space before the 49ers retain any players or sign draft picks.

Still, the 49ers need to make sure that they can give Purdy a competitive offer. Otherwise, they risk losing someone with a firm handle on their offense and having to either draft an unproven rookie or sign a journeyman veteran. The 2026 FA class for quarterbacks isn’t exciting either, featuring names like Geno Smith, Malik Willis, and Gardner Minshew as potential options.

Purdy told reporters on Monday that he doesn’t necessarily need to reset the market but wants to get his deal done sooner rather than later.

“More than anything for me, I want to be able to handle business the right way, do it in a respectable manner, and get back to my team as fast as I can to get going,” Purdy told reporters. “That’s my mindset, my focus. And obviously, I want to help the team across the board with all the other guys who need to get their deals done, but everybody will handle it the right way and how they need to.”

All of this means that the 49ers must be willing to take their medicine and give Purdy a deal that should put him in the top 10 in market value for QBs. However, the 49ers can take a page out of the book of several other teams to give them cap relief.

The Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love are good examples of how to avoid immediate cap constraints to extend a potential franchise quarterback. Along with making Love’s contract backloaded, the Packers also tacked on “void years” to spread out some of his guaranteed money beyond the length of his deal.

While this would make it difficult to move on from Purdy if things fell apart early into his extension, it would also allow the 49ers to still have enough cap space in 2026 and 2027 to keep building a sustainable contender around their young quarterback.

Fans will be divided when the extension happens, but expect Purdy’s long-term deal to fall somewhere in the $50 million per year range.