Purdy happy new deal lets 49ers build around him

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- One day after the disappointing 2024 season ended, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was inundated with questions about his forthcoming contract discussions.

At the time, Purdy didn't know much about how it would all go down, but he did hope for one thing: a speedy negotiation. At that January media session, Purdy expressed hope that he could have a new deal done by the time the Niners opened their offseason training program in April.

Purdy and the Niners didn't quite reach that artificial deadline, but they came close as Purdy signed a five-year, $265 million contract extension on Tuesday, just 28 days after the offseason program began but before on-field organized team activities, which are set to begin next Tuesday.

"Being here day one was a huge emphasis for me, regardless of having a contract done or not," Purdy said. "But I had a lot of faith in my agent and the Niners that we were going to get something done. I didn't know when exactly, but being here for phase one was huge for me."

Purdy's patience was rewarded in no small part because he and agent Kyle Strongin set a course for his negotiations near the end of last season. At that point, they laid out a vision for what they were hoping to get out, what they might be willing to sacrifice to make it happen and how best to get Purdy what he earned while not handicapping the franchise's ability to build around him.

On Wednesday, Purdy spoke to the Bay Area media for the first time since signing his extension and acknowledged that squeezing every dollar out of the negotiations wasn't a priority.

"I think where we ended up was exactly where we needed to be," Purdy said. "I'm extremely happy with where we ended and I know the Niners are, too. ... However they use the cap space and all that kind of stuff, that's not my job. My job is to now go and win games and lead this team, but I'm extremely happy and grateful for where we ended."

Purdy's extension includes $181 million in guarantees (including those for injury) and a full no-trade clause, the first in franchise history. The $53 million annual average tied Purdy with Detroit's Jared Goff for the seventh-highest in the league, though the extension won't fully kick in until the 2026 season and takes him through the 2030 season.

Those numbers firmly place Purdy among the 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the league but still fall short of other deals negotiated in the past five years, especially when it comes to percentage of the salary cap as it relates to average value. Purdy's new deal comes in at just under 19% in that regard.

The reason, at least in part, is that Purdy didn't want to hamstring the Niners when it comes to paying other key players. It's a notion driven home by the lucrative extensions that tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner have also done this offseason.

"We want to make sure that we're working together with our organization and setting up everybody for success," Purdy said. "It's not just for me to get all the money as much as I can, but also, hey, let's surround yourself with a great team and players and a great locker room, and all those things mattered."

The timing of Purdy's contract is not just a welcome sight for him but the organization as well. In recent years, the Niners have struggled to close deals of similar magnitude before the regular season, let alone the beginning of the OTAs.

Defensive end Nick Bosa, receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams have all taken part in negotiations that have dragged deep into training camp and kept them away for most of the offseason program.

That won't be the case for Purdy, however. He was playing golf at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco with his wife, Jenna, and center Jake Brendel and his wife, Zan, on Friday when general manager John Lynch reached him via FaceTime with the news that the deal was done.

In the days that followed, Purdy exhaled and took a moment to reflect on his journey from the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft to franchise quarterback and the highest-paid player in Niners history. He and his wife pondered potential purchases, and though Purdy hasn't committed to anything yet, he did say he would like to own a bass boat at some point.

With his contract business behind him, Purdy can get to work on helping San Francisco rebound from last year's 6-11 finish. Purdy said Wednesday he is "fully healthy" and "100%" after dealing with an elbow injury that kept him out in Week 18 and a shoulder issue that kept him out of a game earlier in the season.

"This is just my story," Purdy said. "It's just been where God has had me and I've been all in on it and extremely grateful to be in this position. And it fires me up more than anything to want to continue to get better and help this organization win."