49ers’ Brock Purdy Opens Up About Living With Teammate Nick Zakelj

A seventh-round salary gets you a unique housing arrangement in the Bay Area.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has rocketed to fame over the past two seasons, going from a late-round draft flier best known for his feats at Iowa State to the leader of one of football’s most feared offenses.

Unfortunately for Purdy, his wages have yet to increase in tandem.

Purdy is still making just $870,000, the base salary of his four-year, $3.7 million rookie deal. Because of this, the quarterback is living “modestly” with San Francisco offensive lineman Nick Zakelj in the uber-expensive Bay Area.

In a Friday afternoon interview with team reporter Lindsey Pallares, Purdy elaborated on his unique arrangement with Zakelj.

“Obviously, he plays offensive line so everywhere we go, I’m always trying to treat him and make sure I’m paying for his food,” Purdy said. “We click really well and he’s been great to have. [We] go home, we talk about football, talk about life, so we get along great. He’s going to be in my wedding as well, so he’s awesome.”

Purdy said that he and Zakelj struck up a friendship as rookies. Zakelj, a Fordham product, was taken in the sixth round of 2022’s draft—75 picks before Purdy, to be precise.

“We’re at the facility all day, working. Being able to go home and put on a movie together just hang out and talk,” Purdy said. “Or [we] go outside, we got cornhole, a grill, so we just do things like that, almost as if we’re still in college but obviously on another level cause we got a job and we’re trying to produce. That’s just the life we live.”