The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the top teams in the NFL over the past half-decade. They’ve had arguably the most talented roster year in and year out, featuring a depth chart full of Pro Bowlers and potential future Hall of Famers. But it is becoming an increasingly expensive situation to maintain, and the team has a tough decision to make when it comes to quarterback Brock Purdy.
An Affordable Roster Thanks To Brock Purdy
The 49ers have taken a popular approach to remaining in contention. Finding young and productive quarterbacks still on their rookie contracts has been a trend in recent years around the NFL. It affords teams the ability to spend big money on other parts of their roster, and has proved successful in places like Kansas City and Cincinnati.
The 49ers are the latest team to employ this strategy, perhaps better than any team has, thanks completely to Brock Purdy. Due to being the last pick in the 2022 Draft, Purdy’s rookie scale contract pays him just $3.7 million over the span of four years. Due to the high-level of production early in his career, his contract is considered arguably the best bargain in the NFL. It is perhaps the biggest reason why San Francisco’s core of stars has been together for so long.
But the days of cheap quarterback play are nearly over for Kyle Shanahan’s team. Purdy has just one year remaining on his rookie deal after 2024, and will almost certainly be looking to have his contract extension resolved before the start of the 2025 season.
How much money Brock Purdy will command has yet to be decided, which will make the final five games of the current season of high importance. The 49ers have fallen on hard times recently, and Purdy is just 8-8 in the regular season since last year’s late-season loss to the Ravens.
His production hasn’t fallen off a cliff by any means, but he hasn’t been the top-10 quarterback that he had been during the start of his career. When his team needed him the most in recent weeks with injuries up and down the roster, Purdy has thrown for 159 and 94 yards in back-to-back losses, and has thrown multiple touchdowns in a game just once since early October.
When the quarterback market was set last year with guys like Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa inking new deals, it appeared that Purdy would command similar, if not better, money. That is now in question after his recent struggles, and handing him a contract worth $55-$60 million may not be in the team’s best interest.
What Are The Options For The 49ers?
In order to continue to compete, to keep their championship window open, they’ll have to retain their star players for at least another couple of seasons. A high-priced quarterback could price them out at other positions. There are already 11 players on the 49ers’ roster that are set to earn north of $9 million in 2025, and the yearly price tags on guys like Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey will only continue to rise.
There are a few options that San Francisco has. They can go against Purdy’s preferred timeline and wait until after the 2025 season to make a decision. He is only owed $1.1 million for next year, and the team could use the season to fully evaluate his potential for a long-term fit.
At that point, they could sign him to a new, long-term contract based on the market and his performance. Or, they would have the option of using the franchise tag on him for 2026. This one-year deal would be expensive, likely somewhere around the $41 million mark, but would keep him on the roster without the team having to commit multiple years quite yet.
| Player | Cap Hit In 2026 |
| Nick Bosa | $42,029,109 |
| Trent Williams | $39,403,781 |
| Javon Hargrave | $29,835,000 |
| Fred Warner | $26,710,000 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | $16,223,000 |
| Christian McCaffrey | $9,767,000 |
| Deommodore Lenoir | $8,870,000 |
As of now, it figures to be a highly unlikely option. In 2026, contracts of guys like Nick Bosa ($42 million), Trent Williams ($39 million), and Javon Hargrave ($29 million) are set to balloon, making a quarterback franchise tag essentially impossible. There are of course contract restructures that will come into play, and perhaps not all of their high-priced pieces are still around at that point. But that is exactly the decision the team has to make in regard to Purdy and the rest of the roster.
The other option is drastic and could seem outlandish. But it very well could be the best option that the 49ers have.
They could simply trade Brock Purdy. And now might be the time to do so.
Could The 49ers Really Trade Brock Purdy?
The 49ers never believed that they would be looking at a top-15 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. But given their struggles through their first 12 games this year, they are actually just a single game out of being in the top-10. It isn’t crazy to believe that they’ll close out the year with a 6-11 or 7-10 record, which would provide them with a valuable pick that they wouldn’t have to give up assets for.
They could reset their quarterback clock. San Francisco would bring in a top-end talent on a cheap rookie deal, which would allow them to retain much of the rest of their talented roster and perhaps extend their championship window. They’d essentially be doing the same thing that they did with Purdy originally, though a rookie drafted in the first round would make much more than $725,000 for his first year in the league.
They’d be able to get some solid draft capital in return. It isn’t likely that a team would trade a first round pick for a quarterback looking for a big pay day, but perhaps the 49ers could fetch a package that included perhaps second and third rounders. They’d not only be resetting the clock, but they’d be gaining assets by doing so.
Would Any Elite QBs Even Be Available?
There are a couple of snags in this particular plan, though. There are only two college quarterbacks who are widely considered to be top-10 talents, and most mock drafts have Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward being selected within the top-5 (too high for SF’s potential pick). They’d probably have to trade up in order to nab one of the top prospects, and there may be some hesitancy to do so given the Trey Lance debacle a few years back.
The roster for the 49ers is also an aging one. Would they really consider giving up on a 25-year-old quarterback in order to retain a 37-year-old Trent Williams? Or a near 30-year-old Deebo Samuel? What about Christian McCaffrey, who, given his age and progressing injury issues, is ancient in terms of running back careers?
The entire situation surrounding Brock Purdy will make for an interesting follow, and it all starts with the upcoming games. The 49ers will be able to learn plenty from his performance during the final five games, especially now that the roster is heavily affected by injury. Can he still perform at a high level without an All-Pro running back behind him? Or a future Hall of Famer protecting his blindside?
Because that is probably going to be the case in the future if the 49ers are paying him more than $50 million per season.
