Brock Purdy nearly doubles his salary due to a bonus from NFL’s performance-based pay

Maybe you’ve heard this once or a couple thousand times the past couple seasons: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant in the NFL Draft.

As the last pick of the draft, Purdy isn’t high on the NFL’s salary scale. His contract is $3.737 million over four years. His base salary last season was $870,000. Maybe you’ve also heard this, but Purdy shares rent with a roommate and drives a Toyota.

When the NFL announced its performance-based bonuses on Monday, it was a pretty big deal to Purdy and several others on the lower end of the NFL’s pay scale. Purdy made more than $739,000 in the bonus program, about an 85 percent bump from his base salary last season.

Maybe Purdy can help out a little more with the rent this month.

Brock Purdy get a huge bonus

The NFL’s performance-based pay program rewards players with lower salaries who get a lot of playing time. Purdy started 16 games for the 49ers and played well enough to help lead the 49ers to an NFC championship. The exact amount Purdy got was $739,795.

The leader in the bonus program was Baltimore Ravens guard John Simpson, a 2020 fourth-round pick who got $974,613. Simpson started all 17 games for the Ravens and played 99 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.

Purdy and others on that top 25 list, like Dallas Cowboys cornerback and 2023 All-Pro DaRon Bland, are in line for big new contracts soon. They have outplayed their draft position and are able to get some extra money now as a reward, while they wait on those second contracts. That’s the point of the NFL’s program.

Purdy should cash in big soon. Purdy is through his second NFL season, and is eligible to sign an extension after his third season. As a successful quarterback of a winning team, he’ll get a deal that will blow away his current six-figure salary.

Until that contract comes through, Purdy has a lot more spending money in his pocket thanks to his bonus.