As the San Francisco 49ers turn to the offseason after a disappointing 2024 season, a lot of focus will be placed upon quarterback Brock Purdy‘s potential contract extension. Many people are focused on his salary, but that may be the wrong number to look at.

Both sides seem to be intent on working out a deal. In his end-of-year press conference, Purdy made it clear he wants to get a deal done quickly without any drama or theatrics. Similarly, both general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have made it clear they want Purdy back.

It seems very likely an extension will get done in the next few months, but the details of that deal will be important. Many people are focused on how much money Purdy will make per season. The range generally goes from $30 million to $50 million per year, and you will find arguments for numbers anywhere within that range.

While how much Purdy makes per season is definitely important and has implications for how flexible the Niners can be when it comes to signing other free agents to assist in other areas, the length of the contract is arguably more important.

Money talks, but how confident are Lynch and Shanahan in Purdy in the long run? Will they give him a three-year contract because they think he can only be effective while the team has offensive weapons like George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Brandon Aiyuk? Or will they opt for a longer extension of five years or more because they feel that he truly is their guy for the long haul?

There are arguments to be made for either approach. Perhaps they can split the difference with a four-year deal.

Whichever way they dice it, it will still tell us a lot about how the 49ers really feel about Purdy.

The Niners have seen him look phenomenal in 2022 and 2023 when Purdy had all of his offensive weapons at his disposal, and they have seen him struggle in 2024 when the team was missing key pieces and had a banged-up offensive line.

Through it all though, Purdy has remained the same guy. He has been humble, hard-working, and has insisted he can improve when things have gone good and when they have gone bad.

That is the exact kind of guy a team wants as their leader.

It seems likely that a deal gets done, but the length of that deal will tell us quite a lot about how much Lynch and Shanahan truly believe in their quarterback.