49ers CEO: Purdy will ask for record deal when eligible

San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York is aware a potential record-breaking contract extension for Brock Purdy is on the horizon.

“It’s what the market is,” York said at the NFL owners meetings, according to Cam Inman of The Mercury News. “Brock is going to ask for something that no one has ever asked for before.”

Purdy signed a three-year, $3.7-million rookie deal when he was selected with the last pick in the 2022 draft. He’s eligible for a contract extension next offseason and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

The 24-year-old has a $1.04-million cap hit in 2024, ranking 67th among signal-callers, according to Spotrac, He’s the third-highest-paid quarterback on the 49ers this season and ranks behind players such as Aidan O’Connell, Sam Ehlinger, and Nathan Peterman.

Purdy has excelled since taking over the starting job in 2022. He has a 17-4 record in 21 contests, helping lead the 49ers to the conference championship in 2022 and the Super Bowl last campaign. Out of 25 signal-callers who have taken at least 700 snaps over the last two years, Purdy ranks first in EPA/play and success rate.

The 49ers have dished out a record-breaking quarterback contract in the past, making Jimmy Garoppolo the highest-paid player at the position in 2018 with a five-year, $137.5-million deal.

“To me, the quarterback is the most important position not just in football, but all of sports, and those guys should be paid a lot of money,” York said.

He added: “When we signed Jimmy several years ago, it was the largest deal in the history of the NFL, for three minutes,” York said. “But Jimmy was at ($27.5 million). That’s what the market is, and you have to accept the reality of the world.”

Purdy has 5,645 passing yards with 44 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in his career.

49ers CEO Jed York being sued over insider trading accusations

San Francisco 49ers chief executive Jed York is being sued over accusations of insider trading related to his role on the board of an online educational company.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that two shareholder lawsuits have been filed against York and other directors of Santa Clara-based Chegg Inc.

The suits allege that York and other directors of Chegg hid the company’s role in helping college students cheat on online exams during the pandemic.

The company’s revenues and stock price fell sharply once colleges resumed in-person testing and students couldn’t use Chegg to cheat, according to the lawsuits.

The suits also accuse York, Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig and other company executives of illegal insider trading for selling Chegg stock before investors were told about the extent of the cheating scandal. The suits claim York made $1.4 million in profit on the sale of 20,000 shares “at artificially inflated prices.”

Team spokesperson Brian Brokaw didn’t address specifics of the lawsuits, saying in a statement that “the 49ers are proud of the work we accomplished with Chegg to provide scholarships for first-generation students.”

A Chegg spokesman told the Chronicle that the “suits are without merit and Chegg is vigorously defending itself.”

The Chronicle reported that York has been paid cash and stock worth about $2 million for his part-time work over 10 years as a board member and he made a profit of $4.9 million on sales of company stock.

Niners CEO Jed York ‘happy to have’ Jimmy Garoppolo on roster if trade doesn’t materialize

There are only about three weeks before the San Francisco 49ers kick off the 2022 season and they still have a reserve quarterback with 47 career starts and a $24.2 million salary on their roster.

Jimmy Garoppolo, despite the 49ers’ intentions to trade him and clear the way for the Trey Lance era, remains with the team and San Francisco chief executive officer Jed York said he is OK with keeping Jimmy G on the squad if it comes to that.

“I’ve said this before, you can’t have enough good quarterbacks and good football players,” York told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami. “I’m not going to get into roster discussions and what (general manager) John (Lynch) and (head coach) Kyle (Shanahan) want to do. But I will support them in sort of anything that they want to make this team as good as it can possibly be.

“I watched it with Joe (Montana) and Steve (Young) and I realize the salary cap is different today than having no salary cap. But we’ve said it before: We’re happy to keep Jimmy. We’re happy to have him on the roster. And if that’s the case, then that’s the case.”

Keeping Garoppolo is likely to be a distraction — even with Garoppolo having been a class act throughout the process — when the team is trying to move forward with the maturation of Lance as their bona fide QB of the future, and would also be an expensive choice.

Garoppolo’s shoulder injury at the end of the 49ers’ playoff run last season and subsequent surgery threw a monkey wrench into San Francisco’s trade plans. Still, there was an expectation Jimmy G would be traded prior to the end of July. As the seventh month on the calendar came and went and Garoppolo did not, it became clearer that teams would wait until a fully healthy QB emerged. Garoppolo has been throwing off to the side during 49ers practices with the season drawing near, but there’s been no movement.

Pickings as they relate to trade suitors are seemingly slim. The most recent rumblings have surrounded the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, but they each have veteran backups with starting experience ready to go in Jacoby Brissett and Joe Flacco, respectively. Another team of note is the Seattle Seahawks, but it’s difficult to imagine the 49ers dealing Garoppolo to an NFC West rival.

So, if it comes to it, York is fine and dandy with keeping Jimmy G around.

49ers CEO would welcome invite to White House if team wins Super Bowl

San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself but did entertain the idea of visiting the White House if his team wins Super Bowl LIV over the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 2

“We have to get to that point,” York said to reporters Thursday, including Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “For me, personally, I respect the office of the president. I’m not going to get into politics, I hope that we have that decision to make. And I hope that we have that opportunity. And I hope we’re fortunate enough to get a call from the president to invite us to the White House.”

The 2018 Super Bowl champion New England Patriots did not send a full roster to the White House and President Donald Trump canceled the 2017 champion Philadelphia Eagles’ invitation after only a small number of players were going to attend.

If the 49ers win, they may not have a full complement on the trip to Washington, D.C., either.

“I haven’t thought about it, we’ve got a long way between now and then, but I doubt it,” Niners corner Richard Sherman said when asked if he would attend the White House.

49ers owner York: ‘It’s hard to disagree’ with what players are fighting for

Tuesday is a great day in the career of Jed York. In fact, it’s one of the best.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with a group of 11 owners and 13 players Tuesday in search of a “common ground” regarding peaceful protests, a group that included the San Francisco 49ers owner. York called the day “one of the proudest” he’s had as an NFL owner, and credited former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for sparking the discussion for change, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

“(Kaep’s) message has been lost. … (the) more you sit with players and hear what they’re fighting for, it’s hard to disagree with them,” York said following the meeting, according to Rapoport.

“If we don’t care about the causes that make them tick, then what are we about?” York added, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Goodell confirmed during Tuesday’s meeting that the league did not put forth any request for players to stand during the national anthem.

“We did not ask for that. No. We spent today talking about the issues that our players have been trying to bring attention to, about issues in our communities to make our communities better,” Goodell told Sal Paolantonio of ESPN.

Both the NFL and NFLPA released a joint statement Tuesday following a near four-hour meeting, stating that the group “had a productive meeting focused on how we can work together to promote positive change and address inequality in our communities.”

Harbaugh wants a medal for lasting 4 years with 49ers

It may have been more than a disagreement with an official that had Jim Harbaugh in such a foul mood through his four-year tenure as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Now that Harbaugh has found more success and happiness as Michigan’s head coach, he’s opening up about his time with the 49ers, which he did Thursday during Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami‘s podcast. Harbaugh was humble about his 44-19-1 record with the 49ers, but hinted the current ownership team, led by Jed York, made things more difficult than necessary.

“I think we did set a record for coaching there the longest under the present ownership,” Harbaugh said, according to KNBR. “I take pride in that. Maybe there should be an endurance medal, a courage medal, for that.”

Since York took over as team president in 2008, the 49ers have seen five head coaches, with only two lasting more than one season.

Harbaugh admitted he hasn’t spoke to York since leaving the 49ers and declined to make any further comments about the CEO’s failures.

“I’m not in the mood to pile on,” Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh also praised new 49ers general manager John Lynch despite the former safety’s total lack of front-office experience.

“I would love to work for John Lynch,” Harbaugh said. “When they were going through the process of the hiring, he didn’t want his name mentioned. I don’t know if a lot of people noticed that but I think that’s a profound thing. That speaks volumes for who he is as a person.”

49ers’ Tomsula: ‘I’m going to coach until somebody tells me I’m not’

Jim Tomsula expects to be back as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers next season.

“Yeah, I’m going to coach until somebody tells me I’m not,” Tomsula said Monday, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

Although he hasn’t received any official reassurances about his job status from general manager Trent Baalke or CEO Jed York, Tomsula said he’s been in constant communication with members of the 49ers’ front office.

“I see people every day and we talk,” he said. “… The biggest thing that I get asked is, ‘Can we help? Is there anything we can get for you? You need anything?’ That’s what I get asked constantly. And quite frankly, from that end of it, they couldn’t give us any more than they’re giving us.”

Asked if the 49ers and the coaching staff are in a better position now than they were at the start of the season, Tomsula replied, “Yeah, I think there’s been a lot of growth that way.

“We’re in a performance-based business. We’ve got four wins. Volatile. I understand that. Everybody understands that,” Tomsula continued. “When you’re a coach, boom, the minute you sign a contract, boom, the clock starts. We’re fine with that. We’re just going to keep working.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis: Players accused or arrested for domestic violence should be suspended with pay

With the dark cloud of domestic violence hanging heavily over the NFL, there have been a lot of differing opinions on how such incidents should be handled from a disciplinary standpoint.

Some hold the opinion that players should be considered completely innocent until proven otherwise, while others are calling for immediate action while the players await their day in court.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis believes in a combination of both styles.

“In my mind, if somebody’s accused or arrested in a domestic-violence case, they should be suspended with pay,” Davis told the San Jose Mercury News. “I want to make sure it fits the legalities and with what the union wants, but I just think that’s the only thing that makes sense for us now.”

What Davis is proposing does make sense. Keep the accused player off the field during the investigation, while allowing them to collect a paycheck until they’re proven guilty.

“I see what the 49ers and Jed (York) are going through and what they’re saying, ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ and that’s the American way,” Davis said.

“But I think we have to get this right, and suspension with pay in those cases (while the investigation moves forward) is the only thing that makes sense to me right now.”