Joe Montana is the greatest San Francisco 49ers quarterback in history, winning four Super Bowls with the franchise while winning their hearts with his fearless approach to the game. Brock Purdy now hopes to follow in his footsteps as one of the Niners’ greats, having signed a record-breaking contract as the franchise QB.
Brock Purdy put pen to paper on a five-year, $265 million extension, concluding negotiations with the franchise over a long-term deal. He’s now one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, but the way his new deal compares to the money Joe Montana made is striking.
Joe Montana’s career earnings compared to Brock Purdy
Joe Cool fired the San Francisco 49ers into dynasty territory in the 1980s, winning four Super Bowls as the franchise quarterback. He was drafted in the third round of the 1979 NFL draft, and eventually took over as the full-time starter in 1981.
According to Spotrac, his rookie deal was worth $255,000. He was making an annual salary of $85,000 in the first three years he spent with the franchise. According to Dollar Times, that would be worth around $396,000 per year in 2025.
Montana signed two extensions with the 49ers during his career. The first was a six-year deal he signed in 1984, worth $6.3 million. In total. His average salary on that deal was $1.05 million per season, and he played out that contract before signing a new deal in 1990.
The 49ers quarterback won four Super Bowls on that contract before he was granted another extension. However, now as a four-time champion, the franchise was ready to make him the highest-paid QB in NFL history.
Montana signed a four-year extension in 1990, valued at a total of $13 million. He would earn an annual salary of $2.5 million, which made him the highest-paid QB in the league. Jim Everett was making $2.4 million with the Rams, while Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Warren Moon, and Bernie Kosar were all making $1.5 million per season.
Montana’s $2.4 million would be worth around $5.6 million per season in 2025. He signed one more deal as a professional quarterback in 1993, in the latter years of his contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
That deal was worth $10 million over three years, bringing his overall career earnings in the NFL to $25.5 million.
Brock Purdy’s new contract secured him twice that value in the first season alone. He signed for $265 million over five years, with $181 million guaranteed. His career earnings so far have been $2.8 million over the first three years, as the very last pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Brock Purdy will look to emulate Montana’s success after new deal
Now that Purdy is locked in as the franchise quarterback for the 49ers, he’ll be looking to win a Super Bowl of his own.
Montana won his first in his third year in the league, the first season he started the full year. Purdy very nearly managed the exact same feat in 2023, making it all the way to the Super Bowl before he was denied by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Still, two NFC Championship appearances in his first two seasons in the NFL is astonishing. The Niners had a terrible 2024 season amidst injuries and a lack of depth, but are hoping to rebound in 2025.
To ask Brock Purdy to achieve the same things Joe Montana did is setting the bar at an all-time high. But winning at least one Super Bowl is a very real possibility, and the 49ers are all in.
