The Raiders are making Geno Smith a very rich man, which bodes well for Brock Purdy's own contract talks with the 49ers.
The San Francisco 49ers haven't always been the best at engineering contract extensions with their top players in a timely manner. In fact, many of their deals in recent years haven't been arranged until right before the regular season.
While extension talks with quarterback Brock Purdy appear to be going well, nothing seems imminent.
And there's a chance the Niners could get burned again by waiting, allowing other deals to alter or even reset the market.
Purdy, meanwhile, might have been prudent to wait out San Francisco to see if such deals elsewhere could serve to drive up his own asking price.
Turns out, one deal might have just done that.
Geno Smith's extension with Raiders aids Brock Purdy's contract situation with 49ers
In the wake of trading with the Seattle Seahawks for quarterback Geno Smith, the Las Vegas Raiders subsequently signed the veteran to a two-year extension, worth up to $85.5 million, as reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:
Geno Smith and Raiders agree to a 2-year, $85.5M max value extension with $66.5M guaranteed. (via @RapSheet) https://t.co/0vtTF72JWm
— NFL (@NFL) April 3, 2025
In terms of annual average, the figure most fans casually look at when determining contract values, that's $42.75 million per year. Contrasting to his likely ask of $50-plus million per, it seems like no big deal and won't have any impact on Purdy's own negotiating efforts. After all, Smith's new annual average ranks 15th among all quarterback contracts right now.
However, contract gurus, players and agents will almost universally say the important figure in any deal isn't the annual average, but rather the guaranteed money.
For Smith, a two-time Pro Bowler who has bounced around the league over the years, an average of $33.25 million guaranteed per year is a lot.
As in, no other quarterback in the league has that high a yearly guaranteed average. Smith is now No. 1 in that category.
Purdy, who could easily argue he's the better player over Smith with evidence to prove it, likely won't be influenced much by Smith's new annual average. Instead, the 49ers' signal-caller might simply look at the guaranteed annual average as the new benchmark and demand the Niners surpass that number.
Potentially in the range of $35-plus million guaranteed per season.
San Francisco might have few other choices but to oblige, again wishing it had struck a deal with Purdy before the market again altered his price tag.
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