49ers’ Brock Purdy still having a roommate says more about him than SF

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy surprised many this week when he shared in an interview with “Today” that he still lives with a roommate with whom he splits rent.

This is not new information. Purdy’s living situation has been known since at least January, when a profile in The Athletic mentioned that he and his two roommates — offensive linemen Nick Zakelj and Alfredo Gutierrez — made holiday cards for the team last December.

Contrary to popular belief, the Bay Area is not such an affluent hellscape that it’s impossible to live in without at least an NFL veteran minimum contract, though you’d be forgiven for thinking that given Purdy’s $870,000 salary, and the fact that he doesn’t live alone. Though his contract may be on the lower end of the league’s salary spectrum, it gives him plenty to live by himself if he wanted to.

In fact, he’ll be even better off very soon. His salary is set to go up to $985,000 and $1.1 million over the next two seasons, per Spotrac, and he’s got a sponsorship deal with a car manufacturer. With the Bay Area’s median rent listed at $3,608, according to Zillow, he’s not exactly priced out of where he works.

What this living situation really means is that Purdy is just particularly cautious about his finances. In the daytime show interview clip, he tries to portray himself as living a modest home life, and it very much seems to be the case.

There are still signs that he’s moving on up financially. Case in point, he only lives with one of his two original roommates from last year: Zakelj, the second-year lineman. There’s also the fact that if he keeps his production up, he’ll be up for a lucrative extension deal with the 49ers starting at the end of next season.

Of course, if he’s still living with a roommate at that point, then it’ll be really clear the quarterback is just more frugal than most.