The San Francisco 49ers benefit from starting quarterback Brock Purdy being very cheap as a seventh-round pick. Niners CEO Jed York knows the luxury won’t last very long. “It’s a good problem when your quarterback is one of the highest-paid players on your team and in the league,” York told reporters Tuesday at the NFL’s annual league meeting in Orlando, Fla. , via Bay Area News Group. Purdy is projected to count $1.004 million against the 49ers’ salary cap in 2024, a comically low number for any quarterback, let alone a starter with playoff experience. To illustrate, Purdy counts for less cap space than Miami’s Skylar Thompson, Buffalo’s Shane Buechele, Las Vegas’ Aidan O’Connell, Indy’s Sam Ehlinger and New Orleans’ Nathan Peterman. Niners backups Josh Dobbs ($2.25 million) and Brandon Allen ($2.02 million) will each earn more than Purdy this season.
York knows that number will skyrocket if Purdy is eligible for an extension next year. “That’s the way the market is. Brock is going to ask something no one has ever asked before,” York said without hesitation. “I don’t know how many players are making over $40 million (per year) right now as a quarterback.”Currently, 12 quarterbacks make more than $40 million per year, nine make more than $43 million and four exceed the $50 million mark, with Joe Burrow leading the NFL with $55 million per year.York pointed to 2018, when the Niners signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a five-year, $137.5 million contract that made him the highest-paid player in the NFL, to emphasize that the club is not afraid to the position to pay.
“When we signed Jimmy several years ago, it was the largest deal in the history of the NFL, for three minutes,” York said. “But Jimmy was at ($27.5 million). That’s what the market is, and you have to accept the reality of the world.
“To me, the quarterback is the most important position not just in football, but all of sports, and those guys should be paid a lot of money.”
York doesn’t shudder at the thought of writing a massive check for Purdy.
“There’s a lot of planning that goes into it,” he said. “I’m glad we have Paraag (Marathe), J.L. (John Lynch), Kyle (Shanahan). They’re the ones that are going to figure out the details of it, and I just have to sign the check. My part in that is kind of easy.”
The Niners had the luxury of building their roster while spending virtually nothing on the quarterback. Barring a catastrophic turn of events, this luxury will likely end in the near future, making it harder for San Francisco to retain its top talent. This is one of the reasons why Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the club is feared.
