Brock Purdy is coming off one of the best statistical seasons in San Francisco 49ers history. His 4,280 passing yards set a single-season franchise record, and his 113.0 passer rating led the NFL last season.

Another similar season could set Purdy up to become the NFL's highest-paid player, with some estimating he could command a contract averaging over $60 million annually.


But what if Purdy's 2024 campaign isn't as impressive? Not only could that impact his impending contract, but one analyst believes it could also affect how head coach Kyle Shanahan views him.

"If he has the year he had last year, he'll be the highest-paid quarterback in the league, temporarily, until the next guy jumps him," Nick Wright said this week on FS1's First Things First (h/t NFL Analysis Network). "That's what will happen. But I think some people look at it as, barring catastrophic injury, that's essentially already guaranteed."

Wright doesn't believe it's guaranteed and feels there's a limit to how poorly Purdy can perform in 2024 before the 49ers start questioning whether he is still their quarterback of the future. He notes that, when healthy, even Jimmy Garoppolo's worst season under Shanahan was still pretty good. So Purdy might have to suffer a total collapse to shake the 49ers' confidence in him.

"But if he were to have a bad season, man, Kyle Shanahan falls in and out of love with quarterbacks very quickly," Wright warned.

Garoppolo helped guide the 49ers to the Super Bowl, but that didn't stop the team from exploring other options, whether it be Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, or trading significant draft capital to select Trey Lance.


Wright adds, "He has to be excellent again, or else the Niners will make him wait and be like, 'No, we need to see it another year, and there's nothing you can do about it.' At least, that's how I feel, given the Niners' history at that position."



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