The 49ers want to pay Brock Purdy this offseason, but there might be limitations to what they can offer the star quarterback.
As contract negotiations between San Francisco and Purdy's representation continue ahead of the 2025 NFL season, ESPN's Adam Schefter shared Tuesday morning why the finances might be tricky to work out for the 49ers moving forward.
"I think Brock Purdy certainly could [make $50 million per year], but that's a question if they get that deal done," Schefter said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "Brock Purdy obviously is going to want to get a deal and the Niners would want to get a deal done, but the issue is he's scheduled to make $5.1 million this season. He then could be tagged after next season for $41 million. He could be tagged the season after that for $51 million. So if you don't get a deal done with Brock Purdy, and you're the Niners, and again this would not be what Brock Purdy would want I imagine, he would play for $5 million this year, $41 next year, $51 the year after.
"You're talking about $97-plus million over the next three years, which for most people would be incredible money -- but not for a quarterback who's waiting to get paid. So the Niners have a bit of a cap issue, a cash issue, so they can't put Brock Purdy necessarily where he might be. They can go to a certain level where they'd want to pay him, but it's not going to be, I'd imagine, quite as high as most people think."
"Brock Purdy and the 49ers obviously wanna get a deal done..
The Niners have a bit of a cap issue right now so I don't imagine they can offer as much as some people think" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/UMCSKniRPD
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 4, 2025
San Francisco's president of football operations/general manager John Lynch spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and shared an update on where contract talks stood.
“I think we've been very clear, first and foremost, that we really like the idea of Brock Purdy being here as long as we are, and beyond,” Lynch said on "49ers Talk." “This organization is bigger than us, so that's an organizational decision. When you're talking about that position, that's everyone in the organization weighing in—the decision makers, and that's where we're at.
" ... I know there’s motivation on both sides,” Lynch said. “I can't guarantee something's going to happen, that we get something done, but we have some time. I know people want things like that like right now, but we're not there.”
The 49ers have a lot of question marks looming over their future after agreeing to trade star receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders on Saturday.
San Francisco's highest-priced players for the 2025 season based on salary-cap figures are linebacker Fred Warner ($29.2 million), tight end George Kittle ($22 million), left tackle Trent Williams ($21.7 million), defensive end Nick Bosa ($20.5 million) and Samuel ($15.9 million).
Christian McCaffrey is the NFL's highest-paid running back, with scheduled cap figures of $9.4 million this year, $11.9 million in 2026 and $27.5 million in 2027.
The 49ers can create significant cap space by restructuring the contracts of any of those players, which they've grown accustomed to doing in recent years.
But Schefter's latest speculation adds an interesting wrinkle to the mix regarding Purdy's potential pay day.
