Why is Brock Purdy one of the lowest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL?

With the 49ers once again among the teams who are making a deep postseason run, one could be forgiven for thinking the team’s quarterback is one of the highest-paid in the NFL. Yet, that’s very much not the case in San Francisco.

Brock Purdy & the curse of ‘Mr. Irrelevant’

As NFC West champions, the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round on Sunday evening. When they do, they will take to the field with the highest-paid defensive end, running back, and fullback in the NFL. There are others of course, such as the third highest-paid tight end, left tackle, and linebacker, as well as the sixth highest-paid defensive tackle and the seventh-highest-paid wide receiver, however, for a team that has once again shown that it’s among the best in the league, the starting quarterback’s salary is in stark contrast to what appears to be the norm in many other positions. The question of course is, why?

The circumstances under which Brock Purdy came to be the starting signal caller for the 49ers have been documented on countless occasions both on this very page and many others. As you will recall, following injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, the Niners found themselves in a situation where they didn’t have a starting quarterback. As the very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Iowa State product wasn’t the ideal choice to replace the aforementioned duo, but he was the only one. With that, the 49ers threw the 262nd overall pick into the deep end and he responded by taking them to the NFC championship game with a string of sensational performances. Quite frankly, were it not for a first-quarter injury in that game that later resulted in Tommy John surgery, we may just have seen the Niners in the Super Bowl. At any rate, the reality is this: Brock Purdy is significantly underpaid relative to what he’s worth.

So, what does Brock Purdy’s contract look like?

Before we get to the numbers, it’s worth noting that Purdy’s deal - probably one of the cheapest in the entire league - has allowed the Niners to construct one of the most versatile offenses in the game today. The wiggle room that his low price tag has afforded the franchise has allowed it to spend big on other vital positions, something that has created a perennial contender in the Bay Area. Where specifics are concerned, Purdy is currently on a four-year, $3.7 million contract with the 49ers. The contract came with $77,008 in guaranteed money and carries an AAV of $934,252, per Spotrac.com. What that means is that he will earn a base salary of $870,000 in 2023. You can see a more detailed breakdown below:

If it wasn’t already clear, the central reason why Purdy’s deal is so cheap is because of his NFL Draft position. As the very last player in the 2022 Draft, he wasn’t exactly entering the league in a position of power with rookie contracts based on the draft spot. At No. 262, he was literally at the bottom of the pile. For perspective, it’s the Washington Commanders’ quarterback, Sam Howell, who sits just above Purdy on just over $1 million for the season, with the Falcons’ Desmond Ridder just above on $1.3 million.