49ers CEO makes strong statements about signing Brock Purdy to extension

Per Matt Barrows of The Athletic, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch suggested while speaking with reporters at the NFL owners meetings on Monday that he's "optimistic" the club will sign quarterback Brock Purdy to a lucrative contract extension before the 2025 draft gets underway on April 24. 

On Tuesday, 49ers CEO Jed York slammed the idea that he's having second thoughts about paying Purdy like a top-tier player at the sport's most important position. 

"I don’t negotiate contracts, but any conversations I’ve had with Brock personally have been great. I feel good," York explained, according to Barrows. "And when he’s ready, we’ll sit down and finish it. It shouldn’t be that hard to do."

Purdy is now in the final year of his inexpensive rookie deal.

According to David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed on Tuesday morning that Purdy "doesn't want to" stay away from the club through the offseason program as the two sides negotiate an extension. With that said, it's unclear if Purdy could start to feel disrespected by offers his camp receives from the 49ers this month. 

"I think he is [a top-10 quarterback]," York added about Purdy on Tuesday, per David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard. "I think he's great. Especially when you combine him with Kyle and what we have, he's a heck of a quarterback and we want him here for a long, long time."

The 49ers' salary-cap-clearing activities from earlier in the offseason freed up money for the club to give Purdy a contract deserved by a top-10 quarterback in today's market. However, the extension that Geno Smith receives from the Las Vegas Raiders at some point between now and September could make Purdy more expensive than thought as of Tuesday. 

Unlike Smith, Purdy is a one-time regular-season MVP finalist with two conference championship game appearances and a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss on his career resume. Lynch and Shanahan seem keen on moving forward with Purdy as their long-term QB1, and York sounds ready to pay the 25-year-old. 

Nevertheless, some within the football community will continue to question until a contract is signed if York and Co. are truly convinced Purdy can be more than a game manager for a team that failed to win a Super Bowl when it had a championship-caliber roster roughly 14 months ago.