A healthy Brock Purdy talks about his record-setting contract from 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Of course Brock Purdy did not make a grand entrance with dollar bills raining from the ceiling and E-40’s “Niner Gang” anthem bumping as walk-up music.

Instead, Purdy shuffled into Levi’s Stadium auditorium with a red 49ers’ hoodie complemented by black sweatpants and white sneakers from Adidas, his loyal brand since his 2022 arrival as the NFL draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant.”

The face of the 49ers’ franchise, essentially from December 2022 through at least the next six seasons, also came with neatly parted hair and nary a whisker around his 25-year-old smile.

Purdy, minus any entourage or even the 49ers’ hierarchy, met the media Wednesday to humbly and graciously discuss the richest contract in team history, a five-year extension worth up to $265 million.

“I always had faith. They started with a very respectable first offer, and from there the communication with my agent was great,” Purdy said. “There was no drama involved. All those moments added up to where I had faith it’d get done and these guys had my back.

“Last week we knew we were at the number and just had to get a couple of things figured out in the language of the contract. And it was a go.”

It was on the Olympic Club’s Lake Course when he learned about the much-anticipated, long-promised deal. His agent, Kyle Strongin, texted him the news, prompting Purdy to gladly accept general manager John Lynch’s FaceTime call.

Purdy was playing alongside his wife, Jenna, as well as center Jake Brendel and his wife, Zan. Brendel relayed in a Wednesday text message that both he and his quarterback were playing well “but once we got the good news, our minds were on other things.” They finished the round after turning to a scramble format to speed up their celebration.

Now Purdy can afford membership to the Olympic Club and any other trappings befitting the NFL’s seventh-highest paid quarterback. He can also splurge on a bass-fishing boat he’s been eyeing.

Pleasantries aside, are the 49ers going to write checks that Purdy’s body can’t cash?

His establishment as a franchise quarterback hasn’t come without injury issues, though he proclaimed himself 100% healthy midway through the 49ers’ offseason program, with organized team activities starting next week.

Purdy has missed only two starts since assuming the 49ers’ quarterback throne Dec. 4, 2022, when he replaced an injured Jimmy Garoppolo (who replaced an injured Trey Lance months earlier in the home opener).

Not quite two years ago, Purdy was just starting to throw with a surgically repaired elbow. An InternalBrace procedure fast-tracked his return from an ulnar collateral ligament tear in the 2022 season’s NFC championship game at Philadelphia. His recovery went so well, he broke the 49ers’ single-season record with 4,280 passing yards and delivered them tantalizingly close to a Super Bowl triumph before falling in overtime to Kansas City.

Purdy added to his medical file last season, with a right-shoulder injury forcing him to skip the Nov. 24 loss at Green Bay. On Dec. 30 against the Lions in the 49ers’ home finale, he suffered a right-elbow “contusion with nerve inflammation,” thus benching him through the ensuing season finale at Arizona.

“My body feels great, really healthy and 100 percent,” Purdy said. “I’m just finding ways to get better with the new guys running routes and watching the film and applying that to the field.”

Two months ago, a wave of nearly 20 free agents left the 49ers in an exodus Purdy said he’s still trying to comprehend. Top-tier talent still surrounds him — running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, left tackle Trent Williams — but Purdy explained the stark contrast from a year ago.

“This year we didn’t make the playoffs and had time away to decompress and do some real reflection,” Purdy said. “Last year, there was the Super Bowl, then I got married, and it just went so fast, then boom, we were on to the next season.

“Man, I was itching to come back (a month ago), with the energy and mindset of guys,” Purdy added. “There’s a new kind of re-energized feeling around the facility.”

Purdy’s durability and resiliency repeatedly have been tested since his first start on Dec. 11, 2022, when he sustained a rib fracture en route to a win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Purdy rallied up in the nick of time to make his first road start four days later in Seattle, and he won his first seven starts overall until that injury-marred loss at Philadelphia.

That remarkable 2023 season didn’t pass without more health issues. He was put in the NFL’s concussion protocol following the flight back from a Week 7 loss at Minnesota (he started the next game six days later, a loss to Cincinnati). Come December, Purdy found himself coping with his first nerve stinger to his neck and shoulder region, an injury that sidelined him for only a few snaps in his native Arizona but a similar injury forced him out of the ensuing game, a Christmas night loss to Baltimore.

Those NFL health hurdles are just part of one of the league’s most improbable success stories. Purdy acknowledged Wednesday he’s reflected on his path from third-string freshman quarterback at Perry High in Chandler, Ariz., to being the 49ers’ third-string rookie quarterback.

“There’s just been a process to this whole thing in life and that’s what I’m trying to wrap my head around,” Purdy said. “As a kid, you see all these guys on TV — Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady — and you want to be that one day. For me, what I’ve realized is it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to go through good, bad, tough times, the hard workouts, all the the things to get there, and how you respond to adversity. Man am I grateful to stay the course.

“This is just my story. I haven’t tried to live out anybody else’s story. It’s just been where God has had me and I’m all in on it,” Purdy added. “I’m extremely grateful to be in this position. It fires me up more than anything to get better and help this organization win.”

Included in the contract are $165 million in guarantees through the first three seasons. There also is a no-trade clause, to which he said: “It’s important, yes, but also that’s something my agent and I discussed with what other quarterbacks around the league have. But to me, was it a determining factor? No. Everything else the contract entails we’re extremely excited about.”

As for not re-setting the market or making more than the six quarterbacks ahead of him, Purdy insisted he wanted to work with the 49ers and surround himself with great players in a great locker room.

Purdy believes the 49ers are “happy” as well with a contract that was finalized Tuesday, and he thanked the team’s hierarchy: the York ownership, coach Kyle Shanahan, Lynch, and contract negotiators Paraag Marathe and Brian Hampton.

Said Purdy: “For them to have my back and believe in me to lead this franchise and organization, I really appreciate them all. So, with that being said, let’s go.”