Why former GM doesn't expect 49ers QB Brock Purdy's new deal to top the market

Brock Purdy is poised to become the highest-paid player for the San Francisco 49ers next year. That's when the team can begin contract extension negotiations. There's ongoing speculation about where Purdy's impending mega-deal will land compared to the contracts of other elite quarterbacks. While some anticipate he could command the highest salary in the league, especially if he replicates his stellar 2023 performance, others suggest he deserves to be handsomely paid, but without necessarily topping the market.

Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum, currently an ESPN analyst, offered his viewpoint on "NFL Live," outlining why he thinks it's advantageous for both Purdy and the 49ers if the quarterback doesn't demand the highest salary in the league.

"Well, he'll have, basically, one year left after this year, and then, of course, they could franchise him," Tannenbaum explains. "So I don't expect him to be at the very top of the market, the 52, 53, 54 million dollar range. Maybe somewhere in the mid-40s, and say to Brock Purdy, 'We could give you a massive guarantee, a really good average per year, maybe make you top eight or nine, but we're not completely at the top of the market because, again, we could at least wait two more years.'

"So I would think they'll find some middle ground. ... If you could keep Brandon Aiyuk as a number one, that'd be great. And that's one of the things I would be talking to Brock Purdy about, that, 'Look, [Bills QB] Josh Allen, he did his extension. All those defensive players graduated (left to other teams). If we could keep you a little bit lower than that, hopefully, we could keep as much of this core together as possible.'"