What a big Brock Purdy contract extension would look like for the 49ers

There is an endless discussion about how much Brock Purdy is responsible or a product of his surroundings for the San Francisco 49ers, and ESPN's writer Bill Barnwell did a thorough analysis and what a potential contract extension could look like a year from now. So far, Purdy can't be extended — drafted players can only sign new deals after three seasons in the NFL.

And the contract wouldn't be cheap. Based on Barnwell's projections, Purdy would get something around $65 million per year, considering the constant rise in the quarterback market.

^{"If he continues this level of play, my best estimate is that a Purdy deal would come in around five years and $325 million, for an average of $65 million per season. It's always possible the quarterback could take some semblance of a reduced salary to try to make life easier for his team, but after making just $2.6 million over the first three years of his existing deal, I'm not sure why he would be willing to cut the 49ers any slack. (He has made a few hundred thousand dollars by virtue of the league's performance-based pay system, but he's still going to be the most underpaid player in football by a considerable margin.)"}

It's not like the 49ers have to do that next offseason. The team has the option to let Purdy play the last year of his rookie deal making $1.1 million, but that could make negotiations much harder down the road. San Francisco would probably have to franchise tag Purdy in 2026 while trying to find a long-term deal. Moreover, Purdy will most likely holdout or hold-in next training camp if a deal doesn't get done.

Another advantage of agreeing to an extension early is that the 49ers would include the last cheap year of the rookie contract in the context of the full deal. So while the deal would pay Purdy $65 million per year in new money, the total contract is a six-year, $326.1 million pact — $54.35 million of yearly average, which is still a lot of money, but much more palatable.

Quarterback market

The 49ers usually don't like to add big signing bonuses to their deals, because it limits future flexibility. Jimmy Garoppolo is the most recent big deal the 49ers handled to a quarterback, for instance. It had $41.7 million guaranteed at signing, but only $7 million in signing bonus.

Adjusting to what Purdy's contract is expected to be, he would get something around $16.5 million in signing bonus. The deal would have $98.5 million fully guaranteed at signing and $175 million in total guarantees.

However, that's significantly less than what Trevor Lawrence got in guarantees from the Jacksonville Jaguars — $142 million at signing, and $200 million in total guarantees, with $37.5 million in signing bonus, even though Lawrence's total value is lower.

Parameter

Even though Jimmy Garoppolo received a low signing bonus, it happened in the most part because the 49ers were bad in 2017/2018 and decided to frontload the contract to have more future flexibility. In Purdy's case, the approach will likely be the opposite, trying to backload the deal to make sure the team takes advantage of the window of this roster.

Edge rusher Nick Bosa, who signed a five-year extension last year , offers an interesting parameter. He got $170 million, with a $50 million signing bonus, $88 million guaranteed at signing, and $122.5 million in total guarantees.

Beyond a solid signing bonus, Nick Bosa also got two roster bonuses in years 2 and 3 of the deal, which allows the 49ers to spread money through future years, creating more cap space early in the lifetime of the pact.

That signing bonus would be too heavy, though, making it hard to pay right away and with an exaggerated cap hit from the get go.

So let's project a more realistic outcome.

New money:

• 5 years
• $325 million
• $50 million signing bonus
• $30 million roster bonus in year 2
• $40 million roster bonus in year 3
• $170 million guaranteed at signing

Final structure

6-year, $326.1 million contract

Year 1 (2025) - fully guaranteed

• $1.17 million base salary
• $50 million signing bonus ($10 million cap proration)
• $19,252 in past signing bonus hit
• Cash: $51.17 million
• Cap hit: $11.17 million

Year 2 (2026) - fully guaranteed

• $1.215 million base salary
• $30 million roster bonus ($6 million cap proration)
• $10 million signing bonus proration
• Cash: $31.215 million
• Cap hit: $17.215 million

Year 3 (2027) - fully guaranteed

• $1.26 million base salary
• $40 million roster bonus ($8 million cap proration)
• $6 million roster bonus proration
• $10 million signing bonus proration
• Cash: $41.26 million
• Cap hit: $25.26 million

Year 4 (2028)

• $60 million base salary ($46.355 million guaranteed)
• $10 million signing bonus proration
• $14 million roster bonuses proration
• Cash: $60 million
• Cap hit: $84 million

Year 5 (2029)

• $67 million base salary
• $10 million signing bonus proration
• $14 million roster bonuses proration
• Cash: $67 million
• Cap hit: $91 million cap hit

Year 6 (2030)

• $75.455 million base salary
• $14 million roster bonuses proration
• Cash: $75.455 million
• Cap hit: $89.455 million

Year 7, void (2031)

• $8 million roster bonus proration

There are still two important considerations. The 49ers would have the option to restructure Purdy's base salaries from 2028 on, significantly reducing his immediate cap hit, but creating a potential monster dead money in 2031. The guarantees at signing would enter year 4 of the deal, which is pretty significant as well.

It's certainly a scary amount of money, but it's where the quarterback market is trending to. If the 49ers are comfortable that Purdy is the future, they will have to pay him accordingly — which will seem more palatable considering a $30 million to $35 million yearly salary cap increase.

Related: The quarterback market revolution: Examining the decade's financial landscape in the NFL