The San Francisco 49ers are in the midst of an eventful and chaotic free agency. Following a disappointing regular season that saw them miss the playoffs entirely after making the Super Bowl the year prior, the 49ers essentially tore down the entire roster.
Key defenders Talanoa Hufanga, Charvarius Ward, Dre Greenlaw, and Javon Hargrave signed elsewhere, while Deebo Samuel, Kyle Juszczyk, and Jaylon Moore will not be with the team on the other end of the field.
One of the big reasons why the 49ers are stingy in free agency is the looming new contract for Brock Purdy. Mr. Irrelevant from the 2022 NFL Draft is entering the final year of his rookie deal and will go from a $985,000 base salary last season to over $40 million annual average salary. The 49ers had to part ways with a few high earners on the team to make the salary structure work.
While Purdy has made shockingly little so far in his career due to being the last pick in the draft, he has made up for it with the NFL's performance-based bonuses. The league announced this week that Purdy would receive an $858,000 bonus, nearly doubling his salary.
#49ers' Dominick Puni and Brock Purdy both earned nice performance-based pay distributions in 2024.
— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) March 12, 2025
Puni: $898,000
Purdy: $858,000
Good extra bonus for players who played well this season.
NFL News: Brock Purdy Nearly Doubled His 2024 Salary After Bonus
Rookie offensive lineman Dominick Puni received an even bigger bonus, ranking 11th in the league, per David Bonilla of the 49ers Webzone. Jamien Sherwood of the New York Jets received the largest pay out of anyone, a whopping $1,092,206 in extra earnings.
These bonuses are distributed to players who outperform their salary level based on their playing time. The players who play the best and produce the most while making the least are the biggest beneficiaries. Last season, Purdy had received an additional $739,795 as part of the same program.
Once Purdy's next deal kicks in, he will no longer qualify for the Performance-Based Pay program. However, where he will rank among the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league remains to be seen.