Brock Purdy Bio
Brock Richard Purdy (born December 27, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones before being selected by the 49ers with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, earning the nickname “Mr. Irrelevant” before quickly turning that label on its head.
After beginning his rookie season as the third-string quarterback, Purdy was elevated to starter following injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo and led San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game. Across the 2023 season, he set a franchise single-season passing record, earned his first Pro Bowl selection, and guided the 49ers to Super Bowl LVIII. By the 2025 season, he had already signed a five-year contract extension and remained the centerpiece of the 49ers offense.
Early Life and Background
Brock Richard Purdy was born on December 27, 1999, in Queen Creek, Arizona. He grew up as the middle child of Shawn and Carrie Purdy. His father, Shawn, was a Minor League Baseball player for eight seasons, while his older sister, Whittney, played softball at Southeastern University, and his younger brother, Chubba, later became a quarterback at Perry High School before being recruited to Florida State as a dual-threat passer.
As a youth, Purdy played quarterback in a flag football league, where his father credited the faster processing speed required at that level for shaping his later football intelligence. He went on to attend Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona, where he began his varsity career in 2015 as a sophomore at the newly opened program.
Purdy was a dominant high school performer, compiling a 27–13 record at Perry and guiding the program to consecutive 6A Division AIA State Championship game appearances in 2016 and 2017, both times falling to Chandler High School. He was honored as Gatorade’s Football Player of the Year and was named The Arizona Republic’s high-school player of the year.
Considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports, Purdy signed his letter of intent to Iowa State University on February 7, 2018, and enrolled that June.
Path to American Football
Purdy arrived at Iowa State in 2018 and immediately jumped into the quarterback room as a true freshman. He began the year as the third string behind Kyle Kempt and Zeb Noland, but an injury to Kempt and ineffective play from Noland opened the door for him to take the starting job midseason.
He started eight games as a freshman, completing 146 of 220 passes for 2,250 yards, 16 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while also rushing for 308 yards and five scores. His 169.9 passer rating that year ranked sixth in all of college football, giving the Cyclones a 7–2 record in his starts.
From that strong start, Purdy became the unquestioned leader of Iowa State. By the end of his college career he held 32 school records, including career pass attempts, completions, percentage, yards, and both passing and total touchdowns, and his four years coincided with the program’s first stretch of four consecutive winning seasons since 1923–1927. He graduated from Iowa State in 2021 with a degree in communication studies.
Brock Purdy Career
Early Career (2018–2021)
During his freshman year at Iowa State, Purdy announced himself with efficient downfield passing and an underrated ability to extend plays with his legs. His sophomore season in 2019 saw him start all 13 games and compile a 7–6 record, highlighted by a school-record 510 total yards against Louisiana-Monroe and a five-touchdown passing performance in a narrow loss to Oklahoma. He led the Big 12 in passing yards with 3,982 and broke George Amundson’s 41-year-old school record with 27 total touchdowns.
His junior year in 2020, paired with running back Breece Hall, carried the Cyclones to a 9–3 record and a No. 9 national ranking, their highest in program history dating to 1895. Purdy punctuated the year with a passing and rushing touchdown in a 34–17 Fiesta Bowl win over Oregon. In his senior season of 2021, he again led the Big 12 in passing yards with 3,188, and he was recognized as a two-time First-team All-Big 12 selection.
NFL Breakthrough (2022)
The San Francisco 49ers selected Purdy with the final pick, 262nd overall, of the 2022 NFL Draft, making him that year’s Mr. Irrelevant. He entered the league as the third-string quarterback behind Lance and Garoppolo, making his NFL debut against the Carolina Panthers by taking a knee to close out a 37–15 road victory.
When Garoppolo suffered a foot injury against the Miami Dolphins in Week 13, Purdy stepped into the starting role and immediately produced, finishing the game with 210 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in a 33–17 win. He became the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass in a regular-season game, and on December 11 he became the only quarterback in his first career start to beat a team led by Tom Brady as the 49ers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35–7.
Purdy finished the regular season 5–0 as a starter with 1,374 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions, leading the 49ers to the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. In the postseason he became the first 49ers rookie quarterback to start and win a playoff game, beating the Seahawks 41–23, then guided San Francisco past the Dallas Cowboys to set up an NFC Championship appearance against the Philadelphia Eagles. In that game he suffered a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and was replaced as San Francisco lost 31–7.
49ers Franchise Quarterback Era (2023–Present)
Recovered from surgery, Purdy opened the 2023 season as the 49ers’ starter and immediately produced historic numbers. He set a new 49ers franchise record for single-game completion rate at 95.2% against the Arizona Cardinals, became the first quarterback in NFL history to win his first six regular-season starts while throwing at least two touchdown passes in each, and later tied Kurt Warner as the only quarterback to throw three-plus touchdowns with a passer rating of 140 or more three times within his first two seasons.
His 2023 numbers included leading the league in passer rating, total quarterback rating, and yards per attempt, while surpassing Jeff Garcia’s franchise season passing yards record and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He was also named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team for his 2022 work. In the playoffs, Purdy engineered a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Green Bay Packers and then rallied the 49ers from a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Detroit Lions 34–31 in the NFC Championship Game. In Super Bowl LVIII, he completed 23 of 38 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown in a 25–22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On May 20, 2025, Purdy signed a five-year, $265 million contract extension with the 49ers. In 2025 he dealt with a left shoulder and toe injury that forced him to miss time early in the season, but he later posted a career-high five passing touchdowns in a 48–27 win over the Indianapolis Colts and followed that with three passing and two rushing touchdowns in a 42–38 victory over the Chicago Bears. The 49ers were 7–2 in the nine games he started.
Driving Style and Strengths
Purdy’s game is built on quick decision-making and accuracy rather than elite physical tools. His ability to read progressions and deliver the ball on time has drawn praise from Steve Young, who compared Purdy’s calmness under pressure to Patrick Mahomes. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s scheme rewards exactly that skill set, allowing Purdy to attack intermediate zones while trusting his receivers to win downfield.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Purdy’s signature moments are his 2022 win over Tampa Bay that made him the first rookie starter to defeat a Tom Brady-led team, his single-season passing yards record for the 49ers in 2023, and his NFC Championship rally from 17 points down against Detroit. He also became the fastest 49ers quarterback to reach 50 career passing touchdowns, doing so in 2024.
Brock Purdy Career Wins
Across his first three NFL seasons, Brock Purdy compiled one of the most efficient records for a young quarterback in league history. He went undefeated across his first five regular-season starts in 2022, led the 49ers to back-to-back NFC West titles in 2022 and 2023, and started a Super Bowl at age 24.
NFL Regular Season and Playoff Highlights
Purdy’s NFL wins include three straight against the Dolphins, Buccaneers, and Seahawks in 2022 to close the regular season, plus a Wild Card win over Seattle and a Divisional Round win over Dallas. In 2023 he posted signature victories over the Steelers, Cardinals, Cowboys, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Eagles, and Commanders, capped by dramatic playoff wins over the Packers and Lions. He has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week and FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week multiple times.
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