Is the biggest winner of the Brandon Aiyuk-San Francisco 49ers contract extension…
Brock Purdy?
Harmony in the Bay
What Happened: As you probably know by now, Brandon Aiyuk isn’t going anywhere. The do-it-all wide receiver and the San Francisco 49ers agreed on a contract extension worth $120 million over four years.
Obviously this is great news for QB Brock Purdy.
Why It Matters: More specifically, for Purdy’s odds to win an MVP award in his third season as a pro.
Currently at FanDuel, seven players have better odds than Purdy (+1600) to win the award, and all of them are fellow QBs. Two of them (Patrick Mahomes at +450 and Lamar Jackson at +1500) have already won the award twice, while Josh Allen (+800 )has three top-5 finishes.
The competition is stiff.
But the Niners holding onto Purdy’s favorite target is a major step in the right direction for the Iowa State product. Of course, a big season from Aiyuk means a big season for Purdy.
Considering the MVP award might as well be re-named “Best Quarterback in the NFL” (a non-QB hasn’t won MVP since Adrian Peterson in 2012,) if a 49er is going to capture the honor, it’s Purdy.
San Francisco has blessed their franchise passer with a bevy of playmakers. If he can take another step forward in his development, he might generate video game numbers that MVP voters can’t ignore.
What Weâre Watching Today
US Open (All Day Coverage) – Tune in early for matches between Elina Svitolina (28) and defending champ Coco Gauff (3) and Ben Shelton (13) vs. Frances Tiafoe (20) at noon, and stick around for no. 2s Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka, who take to the court at 7:00 EST.
Temple at Oklahoma (7:00 PM ET) –Â Will this be a close game? Reader, it will not. But tune in for Sooners QB Jackson Arnold, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and finish his season with some hardware.
The Look Ahead
Nick Castellanos HITS– Castellanos and the Phillies take on Reynaldo Lopez and the Braves again tonight, and the slugger got off to a hot start in this series, launching a homer and single in a 5-4 Philly win yesterday. In his career, Castellanos has faced Lopez 38 times and produced 12 hits, good for a .324 batting average. Hopefully Castellanos comes through without needing something to go horribly wrong as he steps to the plate…
