Football career Brodie was the third overall selection of the
1957 NFL draft and saw limited action as a rookie with the 49ers in
1957, where he was tabbed to the bench with
Y. A. Tittle already serving as the starting quarterback. Brodie got the start for the final game of the 1957 season, where he went 5-of-12 for 75 yards and two interceptions in a 27–20 win over the Green Bay Packers. He got more playing time in
1958 due to a poor preseason by Tittle. After a poor 1958 preseason by Tittle, head coach
Frankie Albert started Brodie at quarterback for the
1958 season. Brodie was tabbed as the Week 1 starter versus Pittsburgh and went 19-of-28 for an interception and 244 yards with a rushing touchdown as the 49ers won 23–20. Brodie started seven of the first eight games of the season, which saw him have two 200-yard games and his first passing touchdown on October 19 versus Philadelphia, although the move was not received as warmly by fans, with a game versus Detroit seeing a roar from the crowd when Brodie was replaced by Tittle late as he proceeded to lead the team downfield for the winning score. The 49ers were 3–4 in games started by Brodie, who threw for 1,224 yards with six touchdowns and 13 interceptions and a passer rating of 61.8. He continued to share time with Tittle through
1960. In that same year, head coach
Red Hickey adopted the shotgun formation late in the season with Brodie as QB due to Tittle having a groin injury. Having started the shotgun formation against Baltimore in Week 9, the 49ers won three of the last four games to finish 7–5; in total, Brodie went 4–4 as starter. He became the starter in
1961 upon the trade of Tittle to the
New York Giants in August 1961. In his first full season as a starter, Brodie passed for 2,588 yards with 14 touchdowns to 12 interceptions with a league-leading 9.1 yards per attempt as the 49ers went 7–6–1. In the following season, Brodie threw for 2,272 yards with 18 touchdowns to 16 interceptions with a passer rating of 79.0 as the Niners with 6–7. In May 1963, Brodie suffered a hairline fracture of his right arm in a car accident where he was the driver. He had a cast on his arm for three weeks and reported to camp, but his arm gave him trouble when he started preseason play. In the third week of the regular season, he reinjured the arm that saw him sidelined for the rest of the season. 1964 was not as promising for Brodie, although he started all twelve games. As the 49ers went 3–9, Brodie passed for 2,498 yards with 14 touchdowns to 16 interceptions with a passer rating at 64.6. His best statistical year would come with
1965, when he led the league in
completions (242) passing yards (3,112) and passing
touchdowns (30), leading to his first
Pro Bowl appearance. Following his outstanding 1965 season, in which he made about $35,000, Brodie was courted by the
Houston Oilers of the rival
AFL. Newspaper reports indicated that a contract with the Oilers paying between $650,000 and $1 million had been arranged. After the NFL
Giants signed kicker
Pete Gogolak from the
AFL champion Bills, offers to Brodie and other NFL stars, like
Mike Ditka and
Roman Gabriel, expedited the
merger agreement between the two leagues in June . An improved contract offer from the 49ers moved Brodie to stay put in San Francisco, however, and a multi-year deal paying Brodie $900,000 over several seasons was instead inked. The
1970 season proved to be particularly stellar for Brodie. During that year, he led the entire NFL with 24 touchdown passes, 223 completions, 2,941 yards, and a passer rating of 93.8, while taking a league low eight sacks as the 49ers went 10–3–1 and reached the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Brodie also paced NFL quarterbacks with a league-leading 2.6% of his passes resulting in interception. and the 49ers offense led the league with 352 points. In the Divisional Round matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Brodie went 16-of-32 for 201 yards with a passing and rushing touchdown; his touchdown plunge in the fourth quarter ultimately proved the difference in the 17–14 victory. The 49ers were matched against the Dallas Cowboys in the inaugural NFC Championship Game for the right to go to
Super Bowl V. Brodie went 19-of-40 for 262 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions as the Cowboys defeated San Francisco 17–10. Brodie's final season as the primary starter came in 1971. He threw for 2,642 yards with 18 touchdowns to 24 interceptions as the team went 9–5 and reached the postseason once again. In the Divisional Round versus Washington, Brodie went 10-of-19 for 176 yards with two touchdowns as San Francisco won 24–20. Once again, the 49ers met the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. Brodie was even less successful in his second go against Dallas, throwing 14-of-30 for 184 yards with three interceptions as the Cowboys won 14–3. The 1972 season saw Brodie as the primary starter, but he suffered an ankle injury in the October 15 game against the
New York Giants that saw him sidelined for backup
Steve Spurrier. While he was only slated to miss a few weeks, Brodie ended up being on the sidelines for nearly the rest of the regular season as
Steve Spurrier manned the QB position. In the final game of the year, the 49ers needed a victory to win the NFC West or else they would be eliminated. Facing the
Minnesota Vikings, head coach
Dick Nolan decided to take out Spurrier with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter with the Vikings leading 17–6. To the roar of the crowd, Brodie came onto the field, with Nolan telling him to call his own plays as usual. Brodie threw two interceptions, but the 49ers valiantly battled back under Brodie, who threw a touchdown pass to Gene Washington midway through the fourth quarter that capped off a 99-yard drive with six minutes to go. When the defense forced a stop, Brodie got the ball back with 1:39 to go at the 36-yard line needing a touchdown. He drove them down the field and closed it off with a touchdown pass to Dick Witcher with 25 seconds remaining; the Vikings subsequently missed a field goal that would've ended the game in a tie as the 49ers won 20–17. Once again, the 49ers were matched up against the Cowboys in the playoffs, this time in the Divisional Round. Brodie passed for 12-of-22 for 150 yards with two interceptions but
Vic Washington and
Larry Schreiber aided the 49ers to a 28–13 lead by the fourth quarter. However, the Cowboys sprang to a miraculous comeback that saw them score 17 unanswered points to prevail 30–28. Brodie was the starter for the start of the 1973 season. He ended up starting the first four games before giving way to Spurrier and
Joe Reed. As a whole, Brodie made six starts as he announced his retirement weeks prior to the end of the season. Brodie stated that while he likely could have played a few more years as a 38-year old QB, he wanted to focus his attention to his priorities of the Church of Scientology, with his intended mission being to serve as a Bay Area director of their action arm of the church in Narconon by going through studies. He was given the start for the final game of the season against the
Pittsburgh Steelers on December 15. He went 6-of-12 for 79 yards and two interceptions in the 37–14 loss. He ranked eighth in touchdown passes upon his retirement and stayed in the top ten for most touchdown passes from 1970 to 1988. On each list, only he and one other player are not in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame (
Babe Parilli and
John Hadl, respectively). He is one of twelve players to have won the passing title three times. Cowboys head coach
Tom Landry was once quoted as stating: “I marvel at the way he has now mastered the art of quarterback" while
John Madden stated Brodie threw the screen pass better than anyone he ever saw. Brodie was 74–76–8 as starter for the 49ers; he was passed in wins by
Joe Montana and
Steve Young but Brodie still holds the record for most starts (and most losses) for all 49er quarterbacks. The 49ers retired his No. 12 jersey. In 2004, Brodie was named to the
Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class. In
2006, Brodie's number 12 jersey was brought
out of retirement and worn by
Trent Dilfer, backup quarterback for the 49ers. Dilfer, a close personal friend of Brodie, hoped to bring attention to Brodie's bid for enshrinement in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2009, Brodie was inducted into the
San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame inaugural class. ==Post-football career==