The San Francisco 49ers have not extended Brock Purdy yet. They may have reservations about making him the highest-paid player in franchise history.
Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn believes that Purdy has not yet proven himself as a quarterback who deserves more than $50 million a year. He believes that $50 million a year should be reserved for quarterbacks who have proven to be franchise quarterbacks.
“So you can see why Purdy and his agent might decide that anything less than $50 million per season is unacceptable,” wrote Cohn. “And if that’s what they decide, should the 49ers pay him that much? Absolutely not. Purdy might think he’s a franchise quarterback, but he hasn’t proven that he’s one yet.”
Purdy struggled last season when players around him were dealing with injuries. To be fair, he himself was also playing through some injuries. However, Cohn believes he simply has not proven he deserves to be paid like a franchise quarterback who can win despite his team’s shortcomings. As a result, he proposed that the 49ers trade him instead of making the same mistake the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins did.
“Let some other team screw up and pay Purdy too much money the way Dallas screwed up and overpaid Dak Prescott, or the way Miami screwed up and overpaid Tua Tagovailoa,” wrote Cohn. “The 49ers don’t need to follow their footsteps into football purgatory. Stay strong, 49ers. And be bold. Trade Purdy.”
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Purdy has led the 49ers to a Super Bowl and two NFC Championship games. However, the fact that the 49ers have not paid him yet shows that they may not be confident in his ability to win without a plethora of weapons. His achievements so far in the league should still garner a haul if he were traded.
Paying Purdy between $50 and $60 million would make it extremely difficult for the 49ers to surround him with stars. They’ve already gutted their defense and traded Deebo Samuel in an attempt to create some cap space. Trading Purdy would likely send the 49ers into a full rebuild, but Mac Jones may be good enough to keep them competitive.
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