The San Francisco 49ers pursued Tom Brady during the 2023 offseason. Brady retired again after the 2022 season as his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to an obvious end.

Kyle Shanahan had interest in pursuing Brady as Brock Purdy was coming off his UCL injury in his right elbow.

Shanahan told Purdy that he would be the starting quarterback unless Brady wanted to join the 49ers.

"That meant so much to me," Purdy said. "I remember him saying, if we can get Tom Brady, we're going to try to get him. And I was like, 'Yeah, he's the GOAT. I get it.' But something deep down inside me was sort of like, 'Dude, I just showed you that I can play well in this system. And we were one game away from the Super Bowl.' ... More than anything, I was like, 'OK, now let's go.'"