Few Hollywood screenplays could top the incredible true story of Brock Purdy.
The young San Francisco 49ers quarterback is starring in the big movie of 2023 in front of a nation thrilled by a radical and almost unheard-of change in sport.
It all started in the 2022 NFL Draft. Purdy, born in Arizona 23 years ago, was the last player selected in the last round of the draft. In short: 262nd for him, thanks to a Niners team that was not yet aware of the move they had just made. They needed a third quarterback to complete their roster and signed Brock.
The legend of Mr. Irrelevant was born (a term reserved for the last pick of each NFL draft and even accompanied by a T-shirt with the expression).
Brock's 'now or never' was a statement of intent from the first drive. With a solvency and calmness out of the ordinary, Mr. Irrelevant chained seven consecutive victories to put San Francisco in the NFC finals without losing a single game.
There, a new blow awaited him that would once again test a resilience reserved only for the 'chosen ones'. At one point in the game, the powerful and aggressive Philadelphia Eagles defence got to Purdy at exactly the right moment to smash his elbow. The dream began to turn into a nightmare. The team eliminated and a delicate operation to rebuild a quarterback's deadliest weapon. Brock's career was hanging by a thread again.
The tremendous impact the rookie left before his serious injury stuck with head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was quick to make a decision despite the uncertainty of Brock's elbow. He first let Garoppolo go to the Riders and then traded promising youngster Trey Lance (first round draft pick) to the Cowboys.
There was also no shortage of criticism when the team had three consecutive defeats after a 5-0 start. Interestingly, it was at that time that legends such as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers declared themselves "fans" of Purdy.
"You don't hear about guys like Brock Purdy until someone like Brock Purdy. He does unbelievable things on the field. It's a funny, remarkable story that I hope continues for him because he seems like a very humble young man who is ready to do great things," Brady said.
Rodgers was even more outspoken and delivered a message to those who claim Purdy's value lies solely in the enormous potential of his teammates.
"People always have to have some kind of excuse like Shanahan is really good at making plays or he's got CMC (McCaffrey), Deebo (Samuel), Kittle and all these guys. But at some point, I think some of that will go away and they'll realise what kind of player Brock is."
The 49ers rallied around Purdy to put together an unstoppable run of five straight wins, including a rematch with the Eagles, whom they crushed in Philadelphia with a glorious game from Purdy himself.
Favourites to win NFL MVP
- Purdy (49ers) +300
- Hurts (Eagles) +350
- Prescott (Cowboys) +350
- Tagovailoa (Dolphins) +700
- Jackson (Ravens) +900
- Mahomes (Chiefs) +900
Now, with the best record in the NFL (10-3), the oddsmakers have Mr Irrelevant as the number one favourite to win the regular season MVP and the Niners as the Super Bowl contenders. The 262nd overall draft pick leads the league in all passing statistics with averages similar to legends such as Marino, Manning and Brady.
No one in their right mind could have expected such a brutal twist of fate from a player possibly destined to not even make his NFL debut. In fact, Purdy's economic comparison with the rest of the quarterbacks is almost obscene. He is by far the lowest paid in the NFL and currently, due to his rookie contract, Brock occupies the 56th salary (out of 60) of the entire San Francisco roster with a salary of 934,000 dollars a year (Nick Bosa is the highest paid with 34 million).
San Francisco 49ers salaries
- Nick Bosa DE $34,000,000
- Deebo Samuel WR $23,850,000
- Trent Williams LT $23,010,000
- Javon Hargrave DT $21,000,000
- Fred Warner ILB $19,045,000
- ... 56 Brock Purdy QB $934,252
The stat is more incredible when compared to Burrow's 55 million, Hurts' 51 million or Mahomes' 45 million. Perhaps in no sport does it happen that the MVP gets paid 50 times less than another star. What's more, Sam Darnold (4.5 million), Purdy's own understudy, is paid almost five times more than him.
Quarterback salary rankings
- Joe Burrow (CIN) QB $55,000,000
- Justin Herbert (LAC) QB $52,500,000
- Lamar Jackson (BAL) QB $52,000,000
- Jalen Hurts (PHI) QB $51,000,000
- Russell Wilson (DEN) QB $48,517,647
- Kyler Murray (ARI) QB $46,100,000
- Deshaun Watson (CLE) QB $46,000,000
- Patrick Mahomes (KC) QB $45,000,000
- Josh Allen (BUF) QB $43,005,667
- Daniel Jones (NYG) QB $40,000,000
- ...83 Brock Purdy (SF) QB $934,252
