Security is everything
As we prep for the potential contract dispute between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, Brock Purdy’s next deal looms and could be done as soon as the completion of the 2024 regular season.
Purdy is under contract for two more seasons and has a base salary of $985,000 in 2024. Purdy’s current contract pays him, on average, just below Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson and right in front of some person on the Las Vegas Raiders named Anthony Brown. These are the bottom 11 contracts among all quarterbacks, which is wild considering what Purdy has accomplished in nearly two seasons.
But you can’t fault the 49ers, as the CBA prohibits teams from giving quarterbacks new contracts before the completion of their third regular season. But it’d be smart for Purdy’s team and the Niners to negotiate a deal and have something done sooner rather than later. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio believes it’s a possibility, especially after Purdy’s injury in the NFC Championship in 2022:
That said, there’s a win-win strategy that both the team and the player should pursue. They should be negotiating a deal with the deadline of getting something done before the first postseason game of the 2024 season — assuming the 49ers qualify.
The language of the labor deal opens the window for a second contract upon completion of the player’s third regular season. Why shouldn’t the player want his deal as soon as he can get it, given the risk of postseason injury? (Purdy knows that risk well, from the 2022 NFC Championship.) The 49ers should want to do it, too, because it will never get cheaper than it will be as soon as the regular season ends.
It might actually be a little cheaper, since Purdy might be inclined to take a little less in order to get his financial security before the playoffs start.
Giving Purdy a new deal ahead of the postseason would be abnormal. The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t make the playoffs, so they may not be the best example, but Trevor Lawrence signed a contract in June after his third season, not January.
The Baltimore Ravens let Lamar Jackson play on his fifth-year option after lowballing him with an extension. However, that’s another situation that isn’t parallel to Purdy’s, as Lamar was a first-rounder with the fifth-year option, and he also represented himself.
Whether Purdy gets paid in January or June, the figures are going to surprise most, and we’re already projecting the number to be higher than expected.
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