Brock Purdy Salary Of $860,0000 Screams For NFL To Change QB Pay

Brock Purdy is currently the top-rated quarterback in the NFL. He is coming off a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars where he had a perfect quarterback rating, the first ever San Francisco 49er to register such an achievement when throwing over 20 passes. That includes Hall of Famer Steve Young and arguably the greatest of all time, Joe Montana. Last week Purdy sealed a win against the stubborn Seattle Seahawks with a perfectly thrown 28-yard touchdown pass into the teeth of the Seattle secondary. “I couldn’t believe he was throwing it,” said his coach, Kyle Shanahan. “He has ice in his veins”, offered star running back Christian McCaffrey. And Brock Purdy is making $860,000 this year under his player contract negotiated when he now famously was the last player picked in the NFL draft two years ago.

I wrote previously that if Brock Purdy keeps up his level of performance that following this season the 49ers should voluntarily tear up the remaining two years on his contract since other starting quarterbacks in the league were making from $12 million to $50 million per year. At the end of that two year period his market value for his next agreement would be clear from his history of performance. As this season winds down and the 49ers firmly atop the NFC West, Purdy has already made the case for himself.

Joe Burrow’s contract averages $55 million per year and he is out for the season. At the time of his injury Burrow’s QB rating was far below Purdy’s. Injustice of all injustices!

In light of this, the most progressive thing to do is for the NFL to overhaul the entire system of how QBs are compensated. The reason is that the quarterback position is the single most important position on the team that determines the difference between winning and losing. Without a doubt, every position is important and even a great quarterback can’t win without a top-notch defense, a good offensive line and a steady running game. However, the quarterback position is far and away the most important difference maker in winning games in the NFL because the quarterback is called upon to make the most important decisions critical to winning and losing games and he must execute on those decisions. The market value for NFL QBs reflect this.