49ers give backup QB Mac Jones some more money. Is it a win-win deal?
NFL teams don’t typically give players raises out of the blue.
But that’s what the 49ers did Wednesday by giving quarterback Mac Jones a $300,000 roster bonus as part of a revised contract for 2026, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Per the report, Jones will make $3.55 million this season with another $2.25 in potential incentives. It’s the last year of the two-year agreement he signed last offseason, which is likely the most important factor in San Francisco’s decision to cut Jones another check.
Because given the way Jones played in 2025 — going 5-3 as a starter while Brock Purdy dealt with painful toe injury — the 49ers should feel incentivized to keep Jones, who turns 28 in September, beyond the coming season. He may well have saved their 2025 season, as they almost certainly wouldn’t have gone 12-5 with a run-of-the-mill backup in Purdy’s absence.
Purdy, after all, is a mobile quarterback with a growing injury history. He required elbow surgery after his rookie season in 2022 when he was hurt in the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia and missed two games in 2024 with a shoulder injury. All before coming out of Week 1 with the turf toe injury last September that could have derailed the 49ers’ season even before Nick Bosa and Fred Warner went down with season-ending injuries.
So the 49ers have a clear understanding of Jones’ value and likely gave him the roster bonus as a sign of their appreciation — which could be beneficial if the 49ers want to sign Jones to another contract next spring.
At which point Jones will have an interesting decision to make: continue to back up Purdy on a No. 2 quarterback’s salary, or go to a team needing a bridge starter and get more money.
Both options come with pros and cons. In staying with San Francisco, Jones won’t likely do any damage to his career. He’ll back up Purdy and work in an offense he knows fits his skill set. The stakes would be low.
Going elsewhere to start would come with more money, but teams needing bridge quarterbacks often aren’t the place to thrive (think Jimmy Garoppolo with the Raiders — or even Jones’ previous stint with Jacksonville). A bad season on a bad team could ruin Jones’ chances of becoming a long-term starting quarterback in the future.
Until then, Jones gets a little bit more money and perhaps the 49ers get some good will ahead of their looming contract negotiations next spring when Jones hits free agency. It’s a small win-win for both sides.
