Starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Brock Purdy, recently raised some eyebrows when he admitted that he still lives with a roommate in San Francisco. Speaking to “Today,” Purdy, who is 11-1 so far in his career starts with the 49ers, shared, “So I still have a roommate, one of the offensive linemen here. He and I are still splitting rent, and I still drive my Toyota Sequoia. Other than that, it’s pretty simple.” Purdy’s current salary with the 49ers is $870,000, not including endorsements, impressive money for anyone, but particularly a 23-year-old, despite being considered on the “low end” of NFL quarterback salaries. Purdy’s salary is scheduled to jump to $985,000 next season and then to $1.1 million by 2025.
While Purdy did not reveal the exact reason for choosing to live with a roommate, the revelation led to some blaming the high cost of living in San Francisco. “The fact that a starting quarterback in the NFL, even one making the ‘small’ amount of $870,000 a year, is living with a roommate also shows just how expensive it is to live in San Francisco,” wrote Mark Harris of Outkick. Harris noted that San Francisco is ranked as the sixth most expensive place to live in the United States, with three other California cities coming out ahead. Cameron Salerno of CBS Sports retweeted the clip of Purdy on “Today,” along with the caption, “The Bay Area is so expensive that Brock Purdy has to live with a roommate.”
Gabe Fernandez of SF Gate pushed back against claims Purdy having a roommate is due to San Francisco’s cost of living. “Contrary to popular belief, the Bay Area is not such an affluent hellscape that it’s impossible to live in without at least an NFL veteran minimum contract, though you’d be forgiven for thinking that given Purdy’s $870,000 salary, and the fact that he doesn’t live alone. Though his contract may be on the lower end of the league’s salary spectrum, it gives him plenty to live by himself if he wanted to,” wrote Fernandez. Fernandez went on to attribute it to Purdy being frugal. “What this living situation really means is that Purdy is just particularly cautious about his finances.” A quarterback being cautious with his NFL salary is not beyond reason, considering that nearly 80 percent of pro-NFL players go bankrupt or face severe financial stress within two years of retiring.
Whatever his reasons for choosing to have a roommate, it is true that the state of California has a cost of living 42 percent higher than the national average. The cost of housing in California is 101 percent higher than the national average. Meanwhile, the cost of living in San Francisco is 25 percent higher than the state average cost of living and 76 percent higher than the national average. The cost of housing alone in San Francisco is 202 percent higher than the national average. With such high averages, Purdy’s choice to live with a roommate may prove to be very beneficial indeed.