San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones earned himself a nice little payday for an incentive that would have been written off as highly unlikely this offseason.
Jones led the 49ers to a 20-10 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, not only bringing the Niners to a 5-2 record, but also giving the backup quarterback his fourth win of the season. That victory mark triggers a clause within Jones’ contract that gives him $100,000 for every win he gets this season where he plays at least 25% of the snaps. However, the payouts wouldn’t begin until he got his fourth win.
It’s safe to say that not many in the organization thought this clause would kick in this season. Not only was Jones signed to be a second-stringer, but the Niners had just signed Brock Purdy to a $265 million contract extension where he was expected to be their full-time starter this whole season. Perhaps they could have foreseen the 25-year-old missing one or two games, but they almost certainly weren’t expecting him to miss five games — never mind the expectation that they’d have an 80% win rate during those absences.
What’s even better for Jones is that he gets another $100,000 for every subsequent win throughout the remainder of the season. That puts his theoretical earnings through this incentive at $1.5 million. It’s unlikely he’ll reach that total, but it does mean that the longer Purdy’s toe keeps him off the field, the more chances this former Niners-linked prospect has to add another six-figure payout to his pocket each qeek.
