SANTA CLARA – Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Fred Warner got paid as 49ers’ cornerstones, and the trickle-down economics already are paying dividends for team chemistry.
“This year, having guys done, getting back to work, to be around guys and just build our culture and standard really from the ground up with all the new guys that we have, it’s been pretty cool,” Purdy said Wednesday. “Everybody has bought in right now. We’re excited to do more team activities.”
The 49ers’ offseason program has three weeks to go, it’s gone beyond practices, meetings, film review and weight lifting. About 50 players went on the franchise’s golf junket to Carmel. Some guys hunted down clay pigeons at a shooting range. Some headed to a privately rented movie theater.
“It’s not like all 90 show. Anytime you get 10 to 15 guys to show up, you’re just building that team chemistry there,” Kittle said at Wednesday night’s Dwight Clark Legacy Series. “And it’s fun just being in the locker room getting to know guys.”
Team bonding is necessary after last season’s 6-11 debacle and this offseason’s roster recalibration.
“The young guys, the older guys, everybody is bringing it right now. It’s just so important we’re around each other a lot doing little, different activities and continuing to build chemistry,” Purdy said. “That’s the stuff that matters, when you get in late in the season and things get tough as a team. You want to be able to know the guy next to you and what he’s about and that he’s going to have your back.”
The 49ers, somewhat uncharacteristically, already brokered contract extensions before summer break for their three most prominent leaders: Purdy (five years, $265 million), Kittle (four years, $76.4 million) and Warner (three years, $63 million).
“Every year there has been someone, yeah, you’d like to get them done and it’s gone on pretty late,” Purdy said. “Whether that’s affected the locker room or not, I’m not really sure and don’t want to just pinpoint something.”
But Purdy isn’t shying away from speaking up the older he gets and the more entrenched he’s become with the 49ers.
“One thing I’ve always seen from Brock this offseason is just his voice is heard significantly more in the building, which I love,” Kittle said. “Whether it’s breaking down the team or talking in the locker room, he’s always kind and nice to everybody, but he’s just more vocal to everybody in a team setting, which is huge.”
Two months ago, the 49ers fractured their roster in half, bidding farewell to eight starters and about a dozen reserves in free agency. Purdy showed up on Day 1 of voluntary workouts last month to lead the growth of a new roster.
“Man, Brock Purdy, what a story, seriously. I’ve been a fan of his since the beginning,” Warner said at the Dwight Clark Legacy event at San Jose’s Hammer Theatre. “… I’m so proud of him. It’s just the beginning for him. Purdy, that’s the man. I love playing with him.”
Purdy, in his afternoon media session at Levi’s Stadium, talked about a “re-energized feeling around the facility.”
Kittle echoed that, adding: “The vibes are elite and immaculate. Everybody is having a good time. There’s so much good energy in the building, because you don’t have that pressure yet of learning a game plan and trying to stay healthy for the game on Sunday.”
The 49ers lost seven of their final eight last season en route to a 6-11, last-place record that could be attributed to myriad factors, including on-field injuries, personal trauma off the field, a Super Bowl-loss hangover, and, yes, contract talks that dragged on with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams.
Contract drama is gone before OTAs officially begin this year.
“When you have that in the locker room and guys see that in the building, it makes you want to work harder so you’ll get one of those contracts, too. It’s good for the team chemistry,” Kittle said. “You keep guys who are part of the foundation of what makes the Niners the Niners. And it just makes guys strive for greatness.”
The new, supersized scoreboards are almost in place at Levi’s Stadium amid this offseason’s renovation. It’s not all on Purdy to deliver points and highlights on what the 49ers are calling “the largest 4K display in the league.” He stiff-armed any gargantuan greed in contract talks to make sure the 49ers still can afford a highly compensated supporting cast.
He noted that having his contract is done is a “huge blessing for the team and the organization. … How they use the (remaining) cap space, that’s not my job. My job is to now go and win games and lead this team.”
He’ll do so alongside a slew of stars who not only are among the highest paid at their position but who experienced the personal torment of a second-contract negotiation. Purdy acknowledged that Kittle, Warner and Nick Bosa (a 2023 mega-contract recipient) all advised him to not hang his head on whatever was said about him during contract talks.
“I didn’t want to lose who I was through the process,” Purdy said. “You see stories around league and people can act uncharacteristically because they hear things.”
Related Articles
A healthy Brock Purdy talks about his record-setting contract from 49ers
Fact or fiction: Did 49ers overpay Purdy? Is their “reset” a harbinger of a down 2025?
49ers announce Purdy’s extension: ‘We had no idea how special he would become’
Kurtenbach: The 49ers learned their lesson and corrected last season’s biggest error
Brent Jones catches overdue spot in 49ers’ Hall of Fame
Now hear this: Purdy and the 49ers are going to have a much better vibe than last year, and his 2022-23 success fuels such confidence in a turnaround.
“I can hang my hat on the fact I’ve had success in this league and I’m capable of leading an organization all the way to the end, to the Super Bowl. I’ve proved that,” Purdy said. “I know who I am want to get what I deserve but I want to surround guys around me and not just try to take every penny for myself.”
