On May 27, multiple reports revealed that Mac Jones and the San Francisco 49ers have agreed to revise the player’s contract for the upcoming 2026 NFL season. Moreover, the agreement from the two sides includes a $300,000 roster bonus for the backup to Brock Purdy.
As a result of this revision, Jones is now due to make $3.55 million in total compensation for the final year of his contract with the Niners. Meanwhile, another $2.25 million in incentives is already available.
Nonetheless, this revision to Jones’ contract is likely San Francisco showing its happiness with the QB and laying the groundwork to try to keep him past this upcoming campaign.
Despite trade speculation, the 49ers held onto Jones, and in a May 27 video on his YouTube channel, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco explained why teams were reluctant to give up a Day 2 draft pick for the former first-rounder.
“In talking to people around the league, the reason I think there wasn’t the trade market a lot of people expected for Mac Jones this offseason is because there’s a belief he was successful because of being in Kyle Shanahan’s system and because of Kyle Shanahan’s play-calling and everything else,” Maiocco said.
Teams Weren’t Willing to Pay the Price for Mac Jones
Furthermore, Maiocco revealed what one specific source around the league told him when talking about the trade market for Jones.
“I know there was one person I talked to who said, ‘Well, you know, any team that would want to sign Mac Jones, are they going to be bringing Kyle Shanahan with him?’” Maiocco added.
“There wasn’t the thought around the league that any team was willing to give the 49ers draft-pick compensation, whether that be a second- or third-round pick. Not quite sure what the 49ers were looking for, but whatever they were looking for, they didn’t get.”
Another potential reason that the trade market didn’t develop for Jones was that any team that wanted the 49ers’ backup would need to give up a Day 2 pick and then pay the player a long-term contract. With only a small sample size, teams might have been reluctant to pay that double price.
“Then, paying double because any team that would have traded for Mac Jones and given up that draft-pick compensation from the 49ers to get Mac Jones, they also would have had to give him a new contract because no team was going to be paying him to step in and be the backup quarterback,” Maiocco said.
49ers QB Mac Jones Might Have to Settle for Placeholder Role
Moreover, Maiocco believes that because of what sources around the league told him, Jones might not be a starting QB in the NFL and could have to settle for being a placeholder for a team should he leave the 49ers next offseason.
“Where Mac Jones is in his career, I don’t think any team views him now, nor do I think any team will view him next year, as the long-term answer or the starting quarterback for that team,” Maiocco noted.
“But where there would be a fit for him would be kind of a placeholder or a guy similar to what the Minnesota Vikings did with Sam Darnold, where they signed him to be the starter and then drafted somebody as well. In the case of the Vikings, J.J. McCarthy gets drafted in the first round…
“I think the major difference between Sam Darnold and Mac Jones is that Darnold has the skill set that basically translates to any system — the arm talent, the athleticism, all of the measurable physical attributes that teams are looking for from their quarterback — whereas Mac Jones is maybe more system-specific as far as teams that would be looking at him as a potential starter.”
Last season, Jones played 545 total snaps for the Niners, allowing him to earn a 77.1 overall PFF grade. Additionally, he threw for 2,151 yards and 13 touchdowns, while recording six interceptions. Moreover, Jones registered eight big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays.
