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ESPN's Brock Purdy love shows $265 million payday was worth every cent

The San Francisco 49ers took a plunge many around the league were skeptical of, as they agreed to a five-year contract extension with quarterback Brock Purdy that will pay him $53 million per season. Purdy is being paid like a Top 10 quarterback, though many around the league doubt that statement.

After seeing Jimmy Garoppolo crash and burn after leaving the 49ers, many believe that Purdy's stats are the product of being in quarterback wizard Kyle Shanahan's creative offense. When one digs into the data a bit more, Purdy is clearly not getting the credit he deserves.

ESPN's Aaron Schatz declared Purdy the most underrated quarterback in the league after his extension. Even though Purdy has the box score stats that would satisfy most casual observers, the advanced stats show that Purdy is managing to produce irrespective of what Shanahan is going.

Purdy ranked seventh in QBR with a 67.9 mark last season. Kevin Cole's adjusted quarterback efficiency, which takes drops and and YAC value added into account, also had Purdy seventh. In terns of adjusted EPA per play, Purdy ranked fourth. Those all sound like numbers worth extending.

ESPN declares 49ers QB Brock Purdy most underrated in NFL

Taking Purdy's performance in 36 games as a starter and extrapolating it out to a 17-game pace shows that Purdy is averaging 4,364 yards, 29 touchdown passes, and a 106.2 passer rating. Purdy even managed to throw 20 touchdowns last year, when everyone was injured and this 49ers team was not competitive.

Because he doesn't have the greatest arm in terms of raw talent and has played in an offense that featured star skill position players like Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk, it's become commonplace for analysts around the league to deride Purdy's statistical greatness as a byproduct of his situation.

The 49ers seem to think that Purdy's ability transcends Shanahan's scheme, as they wouldn't have invested to that level if they believed they had another game-managing stopgap like Garoppolo in the mix. Still in just his fourth professional season, there's room for Purdy to grow into an even better passer.

Purdy will need to overcome haters who will always believe that someone who was one pick away from going undrafted can't be as good as he is without his supporting cast doing most of the heavy lifting.

If he gets back on track and validates the payday, San Francisco haters might be in complete shambles.

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