Tom Brady has been extensively compared to both players in this year’s Super Bowl. Similar to Brady, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs dominated the Championships earlier in his career, winning four Super Bowls before turning 29. Similar to Brady, the San Francisco 49ers ‘ Brock Purdy was a late-round draft pick who was forced into the starting lineup following the injury of his teammate and won the Super Bowl at the age of 24.
When it comes to their arrangements, Brady and Mahomes and Purdy are even connected. Mahomes led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory last year while earning$ 35.8 million, or 17.2 % of the team’s salary cap. Brady, who won his final ring in 2021 and earned 12.6 % of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ‘ cap, was the player with the highest percentage on a Super Bowl-winning team this century. Mahomes ‘ salary this year makes up 16.9 % of Kansas City’s cap, which is the highest percentage of any quarterback in the league.

Brady, who won his first championship in 2002 with a$ 310, 000 cap hit—only 0.46 % of the New England Patriots ‘ total—is the lowest outlier among Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks in the 2000s. Purdy would tear this document if the 49ers win on Sunday because his helmet hit only makes up 0.37 percent of his team’s overall.
The 49ers have used the more money on offensive skill posts and protection, whereas the Chiefs ‘ player spend has resulted in different roster-building strategies. San Francisco spends 50 % of its budget on defense, compared to the Chiefs ‘ 41 %.
This account is very similar to the one from last year, when the Chiefs spent almost a fifth of their total effective lineup payroll on Mahomes alone while the Philadelphia Eagles only spent 3.4 % of it on the signal-caller position. Sam Darnold is one of the most expensive files in the league, so this week’s 49ers spend 5 % on their quarterbacks.
With Purdy following in the footsteps of Eagles ‘ Jalen Hurts ( 2023 ), Bengals, Joe Burrow ( 2022 ), Mahomes ( 2020 and 2021 ), and Jared Goff ( 2019 ), the last six Super Bowls have featured a quarterback on opportunistic rookie contracts. Going back further, there are more instances: The Seattle Seahawks won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015 with Russell Wilson on a low rookie contract, the 2018 Eagles qualified when freshman Carson Wentz started their initial 13 activities, and the 49ers won one in 2013 with second-year Colin Kaepernick.
Due to restrictions on what very worthy players can make during their first four months, it is obvious that skipping on the most crucial position in sports in order to round out the rest of the squad is a winning strategy in the modern NFL. Eight of the 14 postseason quarterbacks from last year were rookies. Even though there were only five of them this year, the Bucs ‘ Baker Mayfield and the Pittsburgh Steelers ‘ Mason Rudolph each had contracts worth only$ 4 million and$ 1.1 million, respectively.
Where do the 49ers have the advantage if the Chiefs blow the lender to keep the best player in the group? Tails and receivers is one such division. Travis Kelce of KC and George Kittle of San Francisco are game-changers who have been with their respective businesses since their earlier Super Bowl conference in 2020. Both clubs make significant investments in the small end position. The Chiefs, who selected start Isiah Pacheco in the sixth round, are the only two NFL team to devote less of their pay to running backs in 2023. The 49ers outspent Kansas City on wide receivers and finished seventh in equal saving on flanks.
The 49ers, who spent 14.3 % of their cap on linebackers compared to the Chiefs ‘ 4.6 %, have a significant financial advantage. The best players at Kansas City are young and inexpensive, whereas the 49ers ‘ three-time All-Pro Fred Warner recently extended for$ 95 million over a five-year period.
Both groups enter the defense range at full strength. Edge rushers and tackles receive 25.8 % of the 49ers ‘ cap, while the Chiefs spend 22.9 %, both of which are significantly higher than the league average of 17.7 %.
The 49ers gave Nick Bosa a five-year,$ 174 million extension just before the ordinary time, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Arik Armstead, a protective finish, is the recipient of their second-largest cover hit in 2023. Chris Jones, a protective handle, is the second-highest paid person for the Chiefs and is in charge of the sixth-largest cap hit in league history.
It’s interesting to note that specific team receive a lot more money from the Chiefs. Harrison Butker, their kicker, earns more than$ 4 million annually and has spent the entire Mahomes era in Kansas City, where he has converted 28 of his 32 postseason field goal attempts. Jake Moody, a rookie 49ers kick, has only strike$ 964, 000 in total.
The Chiefs and 49ers demonstrate how companies is put together Super Bowl schedules in a variety of ways, beginning with how much or how little they pay their players. The easiest way to get a solution to the Super Bowl, however, is still to have an aristocracy Quarterback regardless of income, as either Mahomes or Brady has won five of the last seven Lombardi championships.