Will 49ers Purdy ‘Brock’ the bank?

So negotiations are underway to sign Brock Purdy to the contract which keeps him as a San Francisco 49ers quarterback for a long while and be valued at around $50 million a year.

If that seems expensive, that’s because it is.

As you probably have noticed, there’s a great deal to be earned in sports these days as a competitor if you’re any good. Or in the case of the Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid, who’s always injured, even if you’re not.

Maybe we are so immune to what teams pay athletes, if not what we pay for tickets, all the finance doesn’t matter. The spending is relative. Back in 1930 after it was disclosed Babe Ruth was getting more money than  President Hoover, he said, “Why not? I had a better year.”

The discussions about dollars make us recall the comments by the late Senator Everett Dirksen who when told there was going to be an increase of a billion dollars in the federal budget said, “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it begins to add up to real money.”

The money from sports and for sports is real enough, but that seems less important than what happens on the fields, courts, and ice. Tickets for Super Bowl LVIX this February ranged from $950 to $7000 face value. There was no reluctance to buy them, especially for the fans of the Eagles or Chiefs. You think anybody cares how much LeBron James or Steph Curry makes, other than the tax collector? It’s all about winning, and the winners.

If a team has the wherewithal, then use it, as the Los Angeles Dodgers. They pay virtually as much in luxury tax penalties as the Tampa Bay Rays do in salaries. However, after another World Series and with stars like Shohei Ohtani, nobody in LA is complaining about the price of tickets at Dodger Stadium.

College sports are not exempt from the emphasis—over emphasis—on money. Once the new name, image, and likeness rules came into being, potential undergrads were out there trying to get the best deal and as we know, even if they get it, they often transfer from one school to another. 

Long ago, when the 49ers chose the great running back, Hugh McElhenny, in 1952, the quip often referenced was, “He took a pay cut from his years at the University of Washington.”

As we’re taught in Econ 101, the issue is one of supply and demand.

Not a lot of people can score points like Steph Curry or control an NBA game like LeBron James. Will Brock Purdy be as effective in his sport once he gets the new, large contract? That’s the only thing that really counts.  

Big money? Everett Dirksen would be astounded by today’s world of fun, games, and fortunes.