San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy entered the NFL as Mr. Irrelevant in 2022. The last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft inked a $265 million contract extension with the franchise on May 16. The deal will keep him in San Francisco till the 2030 season.
Here’s what Former NFL MVP Cam Newton thinks about Purdy’s hefty contract, which makes the quarterback one of the top-paid QBs in the league.
Cam Newton on 49ers Handing Brock Purdy a $265,000,000 Extension
Purdy made $2.6 million in his first three years after being drafted as No. 262 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. His new deal will fetch $300k more than that, i.e. $2.9 million every week. He will make $53 million annually from his contract extension with the 49ers.
Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Newton discussed Purdy’s huge paycheck on Thursday’s episode of his “4th&1 With Cam Newton” show. The co-host called the deal a big boy deal because it has a no-trade clause and $181 million guaranteed money.
He also brought out a list of players with no-trade clauses in their contracts, including Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts.
“I’m excited for any person to get this type of money. Because listen, you have earned it. You have done something that puts you in contention to garner this type of money. So, me hate on that? Absolutely not. I’m happy for him,” Newton said.
He had a much evaluated response to whether Purdy deserves the paycheck. He pointed at a list consisting of Super Bowl wins by the highest-paid QBs in average annual value.
“Does he deserve it? That’s subjective. Because, when you look at this list, Super Bowl wins by the highest-paid quarterbacks, starting with the top 10 highest-paid, how many are there? None. But, good thing you don’t get paid for performance. First, you get paid for potential and promise. You don’t get paid solely on performance. You get paid off of the potential,” he added.
Newton wrapped up his comments on the deal by saying that his approval or disapproval of the deal is irrelevant.
“They are what we call an investment. They forecast it, and hopefully, it pans out. So whether I agree, disagree, feel a certain type of way about it, or anybody were to feel about it, it’s the potential that could be. You could get mad and be like man ain’t nobody even won the Super Bowl. That’s not to say in the next couple of years one of these quarterbacks ain’t going to win it,” he concluded.
Purdy’s average annual salary is just short of Dak Prescott ($60 million), Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love (all at $55 million), and Tua Tagovailoa ($53.1 million). The 49ers were once forced to start Purdy due to injuries. Fast forward to today, they are happy to write him huge cheques.