At this point, it’s not a matter of “if” the San Francisco 49ers pay Brock Purdy, but one of “when” and “how much”.

49ers general manager John Lynched confirmed last week that talks have begun between the two sides, and they’re hoping a deal can get done sooner rather than later.

“We have started negotiations,” Lynch told reporters Wednesday at the NFL Combine. “We’re talking. I won’t go into negotiations, [that’s] always our stance. I want Brock to be our quarterback as long as we’re here and beyond and we’ll leave it at that.”

But actions always speak louder than words and there’s a sneaky detail attached to the recent Deebo Samuel trade that helps show how much Lynch is trying to find a way to get Purdy’s deal done.

Turning down Jonathan Allen is an under-the-radar detail that links to Purdy’s eventual payday

The decision to trade Deebo Samuel wasn’t a cheap one. The 49ers actually lost around $16 million in cap room because of the deal. The good news is the salary cap officially rose from $255.4 million in 2024 to $279.2 million in 2025, a total increase of $23.8 million. Still, even with the extra cash, that’s a tough pill to swallow. As it stands, the 49ers have a little more than $34 million in cap room. They had more than $50 million before the trade.

There’s an additional detail that came out once the initial news broke and it’s the fact the Commanders tried to include Jonathan Allen in the trade, but the 49ers turned the idea down. This is big because Lynch and Co. saved both a lot of cash and cap room that can help them pay Purdy.

Not only did that save them from getting even less than a fifth-rounder in terms of draft compensation, but the 49ers also avoided taking on Allen’s $15.5 million base salary, his $1 million roster bonus, and $500k workout bonus. The combined $17 million would have taken out nearly half of their current cap space and would’ve added even more cash to an already fourth-highest total of $259,983,292. As a matter of fact, it would’ve put the 9ers at No. 2 in terms of cash being paid out in 2025.

And, when combined with the $15.4 million in cash saved from no longer owing Samuel his upcoming roster bonus, the 49ers opened up nearly $32.5 million in extra cash to use for Purdy.