The San Francisco 49ers came close once again, but Super Bowl LVIII ended in another heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, 25-22.

Now, quarterback Brock Purdy has only one cheap year left before he's extension eligible, and that's a big window marker if the 49ers want to close this generation's time with a Super Bowl ring.

Below, we show how they can maximize this window — and how it will work for the franchise.

Purdy’s contract

Brock Purdy was a seventh-round pick in 2022, so he can’t possibly be extended before the end of the 2024 season, his third year in the league. Next season, Purdy is slated to make $985k and count $1.004 million towards the 49ers' cap hit. Practically, it's the last cheap year of the quarterback’s deal, presuming that he will get an extension as soon as he's eligible to do so.

Cap situation

The 49ers are already projected to be over the 2024 cap. At this point, $3.72 million over a projected $242 million salary cap. It's the 23rd team in the league in terms of cap space, and they have some mildly important pieces slated to hit free agency — Chase Young, Javon Kinlaw, Clelin Ferrell, Oren Burks, Tashaun Gipson, Logan Ryan.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk might also demand an extension. So the 49ers will certainly need to create cap room to operate during next season.

Quarterback room

Brock Purdy is much more established than he was a year ago, so the 49ers might not need a veteran quarterback like they did in 2023 when they signed Sam Darnold. Maybe they re-sign Brandon Allen or draft a mid-round quarterback, because keeping the quarterback numbers low has proven to be a smart approach to effectively build the rest of the roster.

Contracts

The 49ers have room to restructure several deals. And this is the window to keep kicking the can down the road. This roster is special, and that's the perfect moment to open as much space as possible to keep a strong group together — and potentially adding more pieces.

The team could create around $8.5 million restructuring Christian McCaffrey's deal and adding void years. Using the same strategy, they could also create space with Kyle Juszczyk ($3.6 million), Deebo Samuel ($15.8 million), George Kittle ($9.76 million), Trent Williams ($15 million), Arik Armstead ($12.9 million), Javon Hargrave ($7.1 million), and Nick Bosa ($2.4 million).

Only these moves would open up around $66.5 million in cap space. Obviously, this amount of money doesn't disappear, and the bill would come at some point in the future. But as previously mentioned, it's the time to be aggressive.

Brandon Aiyuk, Fred Warner, and Charvarius Ward are entering the last year of their deals, and potential extensions could also lower their cap hits. More minor moves could be made as well.

The 49ers have a special opportunity to keep something special in place, even though it hasn’t resulted in championships yet. The team’s management has already shown the desire to do it, and it’s time to be aggressive again.

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