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Nick Bosa Thinks Money and Fame Won't Change Brock Purdy

Purdy carries himself like a 45-year-old father of five, which is the ideal quarterback temperament.
Grant Cohn|
May 14, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy prepares to throw the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy prepares to throw the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports | Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

SANTA CLARA -- Brock Purdy's life has changed so much in just two years.

He went from being a quarterback on a middling college football team, to being the last pick in the NFL Draft, to being the face of an iconic franchise. And through it all, he doesn't seem to have changed, which is a big reason why he's so relatable.

Next year, the 49ers most likely will make Purdy by far the highest-paid player in franchise history as well as one of the highest-paid players in the entire league. So Purdy's life will continue to change drastically. And as it changes, he will need to change and grow and become more forceful as a leader. But he also will need to stay grounded and down to earth like he is now.

"I think he's definitely getting a little more vocal within the building," Nick Bosa said of Purdy. "I don't think he's ever going to change. I don't think he's somebody who's going to change even when he gets paid next year. He's a man of faith. He kind of reminds me of Scottie Scheffler except he hasn't gotten arrested. Just super humble and a really good kid. And he's definitely famous."

The 49ers' past two starting quarterbacks -- Jimmy Garoppolo and Colin Kaepernick -- both changed when they got paid. Both of them loved the fame that came along with being the 49ers starting quarterback. And neither of them put in the work required to become great.

Purdy seems different. He's famous, but he doesn't revel being in the spotlight the way, say, George Kittle does. Purdy carries himself like a 45-year-old father of five, which is the ideal quarterback temperament. I doubt money will change that.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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