The San Francisco 49ers have a huge decision to make this offseason.
The Niners made the Super Bowl in 2024 and had expectations of returning to the big game this year.
But that optimism quickly faded as injuries decimated their roster and they limped to last place in the NFC West with a 6-11 record, missing out on the playoffs.
Now, they’re at a crossroads with quarterback Brock Purdy, who’s in line for a very tidy payday.
Purdy was the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, earning himself the nickname “Mr. Irrelevant”.
But “Mr. Irrelevant” soon became “Mr. Relevant”, leading the 49ers to two NFC championships and one Super Bowl appearance before missing out on this year’s postseason.
Purdy has been one of the biggest bargains in the league over the past few seasons, playing on a rookie contract which has paid him less than $1 million per year.
However, he is now eligible for a contract extension, and all reports suggest he is looking to be among the highest, if not the highest, paid quarterback in the league.
Some estimates have Purdy receiving up to $60 million a year, more than Super Bowl LIX quarterbacks Jalen Hurts ($51m per year) and Patrick Mahomes ($45m per year), and level with the NFL’s highest paid signal caller, Dak Prescott.
NFL legend Shannon Sharpe reacted to those reports, making it clear he’d be unwilling to part with that much cash for a player of Purdy’s talents.
“Hell nah,” Sharpe said on his Nightcap podcast.
“All I know is, I’m not getting him [Purdy] anywhere near $50 million a year.
“I’d give you about $35-40 million.
Co-host Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson countered Sharpe’s point, suggesting the Niners may have no choice but to pay Purdy the money.
“You have no-one to replace him,” Johnson pointed out. “You have no choice.”
“That quarterback position is very important,” he added.
“Sometimes if you want it bad enough, you will overpay for it.”
“I’m not paying him no $50 million,” Sharpe responded. “That ain’t happening.”
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A five-year extension could see Purdy receive a $300 million payday.
Giving that much money to a quarterback who keeps getting elbow injuries for a 49ers team that is already facing injury issues, chemistry problems, and other large contracts could prove problematic.
If Purdy is signed to a contract that will pay him north of $60 million annually, there might not be enough to go around for everyone else.
The 49ers are already one of the deepest teams in football.
But you can’t pay everyone, with the likes of Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk all commanding serious fees of their own.
Hence the organization being at a crossroads, as explained by NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero on The Rich Eisen Show.
“He’s eligible for a contract extension starting at the end of the regular season, which is in all likelihood going to be the end of the season as a whole for the 49ers,” Pelissero said.
“Next year is a contract year. If a deal is going to get done, I would anticipate it is at the top of the quarterback market for all the reasons I just said.
“That’s Dak’s (Prescott) number. That is $60 million per year.
“Are the 49ers willing to go to that, or are they going to be in a situation where you could have a standoff with your starting quarterback into the offseason?
“Based upon his production, based on the playoff success, I’m sure he feels like he deserves to be paid at the top of the market.”
Purdy reportedly wants to have his new deal done before training camp.
The 49ers, meanwhile, refer to draw out negotiations in the hope of finding a win-win for players and the organization.
Pro Football Talk’s Chris Simms’ believes that the 49ers need to play hardball if they’re to get bang for their buck on Purdy.
Outwardly, at least, the franchise is calm about the situation, with 49ers general manager John Lynch recently speaking about the ongoing negotiations between both parties.
Lynch said: “I think what we know about Brock is that he’s our guy. 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.
“We just never could string games where we were all together and through that, he continued to lead, he continued to play at a high level, so we have every interest in him being around.
“We’ll have some time here in the coming weeks to sit together and put our whole plan together.
“That’s obviously a priority, that position, and we’ll give it that attention.”
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