SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For years, the 49ers have greatly benefited from the team-friendly situation they found themselves in with Brock Purdy under center at quarterback.
The former 2022 seventh-round NFL draft pick, who, throughout his three seasons with San Francisco, has been one of the lowest-paid players on the team, despite being the most important, never was expected to reach a place in his career where his agent was negotiating a contract potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
And if his career somehow ever did ascend to a place, like it has, where he's worth that level of financial commitment, there's no way the easy-going, team-first, humble player that Purdy is will complicate negotiations. It should be a breeze, he's just lucky enough to be in this situation, right?
Wrong.
While you might be hard-pressed to find an NFL player more humble and grounded than Purdy, in no way does that mean he and his agent will roll over in negotiations and just be content with what the 49ers are offering him.
Purdy, after he was selected with the final pick (No. 262) of the draft three years ago, has gone on to break NFL and 49ers records, while leading San Francisco on deep playoff runs in his first two seasons as the starter. One of which nearly ended with him hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl LVIII.
'Mr. Irrelevant' has a pedigree, and more than enough of a leg to stand on at this point in his career. He has accomplished as much, if not more, than some of the other quarterbacks in the league who have received eye-popping contract extensions in recent years.
And that mindset, while remaining as humble as ever, played a role in him securing a massive five-year, $265 million contract extension from the 49ers last week.
"I have so much respect for everybody in this organization from the top down, so I think they know who I am and what I'm about," Purdy said Wednesday when asked about balancing his team-first mindset with pursuing a deal that he believes he is worth. "I don't know if there was a narrative of 'Brock's going to take a pay cut because he's a nice guy' or this or that, but for me, it's 'I play in the NFL, there's 32 starting quarterbacks and it's not the easiest job in the world.
"And for me, with what I've done and everything, I can hang my hat on the fact I've had success in this league and I'm capable of leading an organization all the way to the end. The Super Bowl. I've proved that."
For the first time in his NFL career, Purdy needed to -- and deserved -- to put himself first.
"I know who I am and I'm going to obviously want to get what I deserve, but also surround myself with guys around me and not just try to take every penny for myself. But that's the whole point of negotiating, you go through that, you try and meet at a middle ground and where we ended, I'm extremely grateful and happy with."
The deal that Purdy and the 49ers eventually settled on pays him, on average, $53 million per season. To you and me -- and still probably even Purdy -- that is an inconceivable amount of money. However, for NFL quarterbacks, that's the going rate. That's what good, maybe even great, but maybe not quite "elite" quarterbacks make in today's game.
But it's still not a top-of-the-market rate. That would be the $60-million AAV (average annual value) of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who Purdy already has accomplished more than. Or perhaps the $55-million AAV of Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence or Green Bay's Jordan Love, two quarterbacks who also have not accomplished as much as Purdy.
So that begs the question, did Purdy, despite securing unfathomable generational wealth, somehow still leave money on the table?
"I think where we ended up was exactly where we needed to be," Purdy said when asked if he left money on the table to potentially help give the team more financial flexibility. "I'm extremely happy with where we ended and the Niners are too, and with that being said, for me, it's all about football now and however they use the cap space and all that kind of stuff, that's not my job.
"My job now is to go and win games and lead this team. But I'm extremely happy and grateful for where we ended with."
Whether he consciously decided not to dig his heels in and demand as much as his less-accomplished peers or not, there's an argument to be made that he certainly could have.
But that's not an argument Purdy cares to have.
Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast