San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is now a father after he and his wife, Jenna, announced the birth of their first baby — a daughter named Millie Joleen Purdy — in a joint Instagram post on Monday. Joleen is also Jenna’s middle name.
“Millie Joleen Purdy,” the post read. “Life just became a whole lot sweeter.”
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The couple, who were married in March 2024, had not made it known publicly they were expecting a child. Brock and Jenna first met while at Iowa State University, where Jenna was on the volleyball team and Brock starred at quarterback. He led the program to the most wins (30) of any QB in Iowa State history. Brock was the last overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the 49ers, and the following offseason, he proposed to Jenna. Each of their Instagram posts commemorating the engagement demonstrated a desire to glorify God and make Him the center of their marriage.
“My Jenna girl forever,” Brock wrote in his caption. “I can’t wait to be your husband and grow together in Christ.”
“Brock Purdy — I love everything about you & your heart for Jesus more than any words can say,” Jenna wrote in hers.
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Purdy began his NFL career in 2022 as a backup. Yet due to injuries, he was thrust into the starting role as a rookie and out-performed everyone’s expectations before an injury of his own derailed the season in the NFC Championship Game.
The following season was one of the ages, as Purdy made the Pro Bowl and was in contention for league MVP for much of the year before the award ultimately went to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Purdy completed 308 of 444 passes for 4,280 yards with 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions during the regular season and led the 49ers to the Super Bowl, but they fell just short to the Kansas City Chiefs, 25-22, in overtime.
Purdy and the entire 49ers team took a step back in 2024, missing out on the playoffs and failing to match his gaudy stats from the year before. However, the 25-year-old quarterback still has the trust of San Francisco’s front office — he inked a five-year, $265 million contract this May, making him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL and keeping him under contract through the 2030 season. With the new contract in place, Brock and Jenna purchased a new offseason home in Nashville, Tennessee.
Still, Brock knows a nice house, a substantial salary increase, and even a baby won’t ultimately satisfy. They are simply gifts from the only One who does satisfy.
“I think the first thing really is just, obviously, being thankful for just the little things, the moments and being present with where God has me,” Brock told Sports Spectrum for the Fall 2023 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine. “Not trying to get caught up in timelines of what my future looks like and ‘Oh, I did this last year, so I deserve this.’ For me it’s, ‘No, God has me where He needs me,’ and, ‘How can I look around and be thankful for where He has me and just have that steadfastness and peace and love, obviously that He provides, and stay in that?'”
As Brock and Jenna raise Millie and introduce her to Christ, they will seek to show her that true identity is not found in her personality traits or what she accomplishes in life. Rather, true identity is found in Christ alone.
“It was a crazy year with how our team did and what we went through and what I went through personally, but I wanted to stay anchored and rooted in His promises,” Brock said during his latest appearance on the Sports Spectrum Podcast this March. “That’s what He’s promised us (referring to the Bible verse Galatians 2:20). Like, I’ve given my life to Jesus. My old life — my passions, desires of wanting this or that, especially in the football world as a quarterback and thinking about the future — that’s been crucified with Christ and what He did for me and with me on the cross.
“Now I have this freedom to go and live changed and free through Jesus.”
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Later in the podcast, he discussed Biblical submission.
“When we say we submit to Jesus, that’s everything, man,” he said. “Denying yourself, picking up your cross and following Him in all areas of your life. From the way that you think, to treating others, your spouse, doing things that are tough. But because you have submitted to Jesus and He’s Lord of your life — He’s your Savior but He’s your Lord — it just changes everything about everything, about how you love and how you lay down your life for others.”
As Purdy competes in his fourth NFL training camp but first as a father, he knows now perhaps more than ever how his Heavenly Father loves him.
The San Francisco 49ers open the preseason hosting the Denver Broncos on Aug. 9, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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