While we wait for the full details of the new Brock Purdy contract, another favorable detail has been leaked.

Via NFL Media, Purdy’s six-year contract comes with a no-trade clause.

The no-trade device is becoming a more and more common aspect of high-end quarterback deals. And while news of a no-trade typically provokes oohs and ahhs, there’s an inescapable reality when it comes to players with starting-quarterback contracts.

A no-trade clause isn’t really necessary, because no one is going to trade for a starting quarterback who doesn’t want to go to that team.

The starting quarterback is the most unique of all football players. The team needs him to be all in. To show up early. To stay late. To work on Tuesdays during the season, which almost all of them do. There’s a requisite level of commitment and preparation that transcends punching a time clock and doing the bare minimum.

If the starting quarterback doesn’t eagerly embrace the team that is interested in trading for him, a trade becomes far less likely.

So while Purdy is protected against the kind of sudden and abrupt transaction that would send him from the 49ers to some other team, that’s never going to happen, with or without a no-trade clause. If he’s performing well enough to justify the ongoing investment, the 49ers will want to keep him. If he regresses, it’s not likely that someone else will gladly inherit the balance of his contract.

The most important details for the Purdy deal remain to be seen. The numbers won’t be available until after the contract is signed and filed with the league and the union. That’s when we’ll know the full extent of the commitment, both in dollars and in years.