San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was on vacation when his quarterback, Brock Purdy, signed a contract extension that makes him one of the 10 highest-paid players in the NFL. Shanahan heard the deal was being finalized while he was on a boat and immediately called Purdy from the water to congratulate him.
Shanahan says he is happy that the deal got done, especially since it locked the 25-year-old Purdy down for five more years, but he doesn’t want the money to change how his young signal-caller is perceived, nor does he want it to be a point of emphasis.
“I want him to be the leader he’s always been,” Shanahan said at San Francisco’s OTAs. “There’s no worse thing to do than ask people to do something extra just because they’re a contract. You know, that’s when you start making stuff up. Brock’s earned his contract and he’s going to earn what he gets going forward.”
Purdy is set to make $53 million per year on his new deal, making him tied with Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions for the seventh highest-paid quarterback in the league. The Iowa State product has already surpassed any expectations set for him when he entered the league as the very last pick — Mr. Irrelevant — in the 2022 NFL Draft.
As a rookie, Purdy became San Francisco’s main starter in Week 13 after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a foot injury. Purdy spearheaded the 49ers march to the NFC Championship Game.
The 49ers, with Purdy firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback, followed that up with an appearance in Super Bowl 58 to cap the 2023 season. Purdy, who was a 2023 Pro Bowler, led the NFL in passer rating (113.0) and yards per attempt (9.6) while throwing for a career-high 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Yet, in spite of what Purdy has accomplished in recent years, there is some external pressure to deliver in 2025. After three straight postseason appearances under Shanahan from 2021-23, San Francisco plummeted to just six wins last season.
The 49ers’ offense was decimated by injuries, and Purdy himself missed a couple of games after hurting his throwing shoulder and elbow. As a result, his production dropped across the board, though he did take strides as a rusher by logging 323 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
San Francisco made plenty of moves in the offseason to try to turn its fortunes around. In addition to the massive payday to lock Purdy down, the 49ers traded wide receiver Deebo Samuel, made Fred Warner the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL and also extended longtime tight end George Kittle.
“I think this is the first time we got a long break, too,” Shanahan said. “The year before last year coming off the ’23 season was one of the shorter breaks that we’ve had, having that tough loss in the Super Bowl and coming back really just like six weeks later. It’s never fun to have January off, but those extra five weeks add up a lot and I think guys were itching to get back this time, excited to get back, ready to go for the first day and it’s been a lot more fun that way.”
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