This is ridiculous.
The 49ers and Brock Purdy have been negotiating a contract extension since their season ended in January. Purdy said he wanted to get the deal done as quickly as possible, but it’s still not done. And apparently, that’s because he wants way more money than Josh Allen. That’s what NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo implied yesterday.
“John Lynch knows what’s coming, and it’s that Brock Purdy deal that at some point is going to happen this offseason,” Garafolo said. “And I know he was the last pick in the draft, I know it’s a system that people think you just plug a quarterback in? Oh really? Because they tried to do that with a couple guys and it didn’t work as well as it has with Brock Purdy.
“Purdy is going to look at this and say, ‘I need to be paid like one of the top quarterbacks in the league.’ If you go back over the last five years and look at the quarterback deals that were done, the average per year is anywhere from 21 to 25 percent of the salary cap.
“If it’s on the low end of that, he’s going to clear guys like Trevor Lawrence. He’s not going to get to Dak Prescott’s number of $60 million per season, but he’ll be in the high 50s. If he really wants to push it to Joe Burrow who took the biggest who took the biggest chunk of the salary cap, that’s like $68 million per year.
“I don’t get the sense that Brock Purdy wants to go there, because that’s going to hurt the team’s ability to do other things. But he wants his respect and he wants money that’s in line with other quarterbacks.
“I don’t see this getting done until Purdy and the 49ers agree on a number that’s close to Dak Prescott. Not all the way there, but close to Dak Prescott. Purdy is saying that’s fair, but it also still gives the team and John Lynch the opportunity to do things elsewhere on the roster.”
This is extremely disappointing.
Let’s try to give the Purdy the benefit of the doubt. Clearly, he sees himself as an elite quarterback who should be paid as such. That’s commendable. Confidence is good. But so is honesty. And if he’s being honest, he has to admit he flopped in a contract season last year. Every time it mattered, he blew it. So if he wants Dak Prescott money, play out your rookie deal, go back to the Super Bowl and restart negotiations next year.
If Purdy threatens to hold out, the 49ers should trade him immediately. Of course, they’d have to find a team that wants him, and that might not be so easy.
No team that’s rebuilding would want to trade its first-round pick for the opportunity to make Purdy one of the highest-paid players in the NFL. No, a Super Bowl contender would have to convince itself that trading a first-round pick and paying Purdy 21 percent of their salary cap would put them over the top. How many teams fit that category?
I’m guessing the Vikings would rather pay J.J. McCarthy 2 percent of their cap space than pay Purdy 21 percent.
The Steelers don’t have a quarterback, so maybe they’d be desperate enough to trade for Purdy and pay him. But he can’t throw a wet football, and that could be a problem in Pittsburgh.
If Purdy threatens to hold out, the 49ers should let him. And then they should name Mac Jones the starting quarterback.
Purdy is playing a dangerous game.
