49ers Rumors: Brock Purdy to Lose QB1 Spot After $266M Demand From Front Office

Imagine the 49ers‘ locker room as the latest season of a high-stakes reality show—let’s call it “Survivor: Salary Cap Edition.” One by one, key players are getting voted off, all in the name of financial recalibration. On the surface, it looks like the Niners are clearing the books to lock in their star quarterback, Brock Purdy. But here’s the catch—if that’s the plan, why hasn’t his contract extension come through yet?

Yeah, that’s where the newly signed QB, Mac Jones, enters the 49ers roster. See, just less than a couple of weeks ago, the team has already signed the fifth-year QB. Now, if you’re thinking that Jones’ is going to be a backup to Purdy—well, at this point, it’s time to give yourselves a second guess.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes that Mac Jones may start the 2025 season for the 49ers instead of Purdy. “I’ve heard enough about Mac Jones over the years, and I’ve seen enough from Mac Jones,” Florio recently stated. “He is not going to show up and bow down to Brock Purdy.” But why does he believe that?

Mike Florio mentioned Mac Jones was coming into Santa Clara with the mindset of taking Brock Purdy’s job from him… Michael Holley, who covers the Patriots, had this to say about Mac Jones:

“He is an impressive football mind when he’s talking, but when he plays, it’s not pretty.… pic.twitter.com/O3Kc2OLSDa

— Coach Yac (@Coach_Yac) March 21, 2025

See it this way: Brock Purdy was the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft and ever since then, the guy has been dubbed as Mr Irrelevant—despite leading the Niners to the Super Bowl spot just in the second season of his career. On the other side, there’s Mac Jones. The 26-year-old QB was drafted by the Patriots with 15th overall in the 2021 draft. And if you ask Florio, that’s exactly why Jones has the upper hand.

“He’s (Jones) going to go in there with the mindset of, ‘I can win this job. I was the 15th pick in the draft in [2021]. This guy was the last guy taken in [2022]. This guy, right place at the right time, running Kyle Shanahan’s offense. That’s all you have to do. You listen to Kyle, you do what Kyle wants, and you’re going to play well.'” There you go. But let’s not sugarcoat this.

Because if the last season has taught us anything—then it’s not as easy to earn a QB1 role as it sounds (y’all aware of the Russell Wilson vs. Justin Fields drama). Here’s the thing: Mac Jones has been in the NFL for four years now. Across his four seasons with the Patriots and the Jaguars, the guy has a track record of 20-29 in the regular season. And Purdy? Far better.

He’s been the QB1 for the Niners for the last three seasons and established himself with a track record of 23-13 in the regular season and 4-2 in the postseason. Translation? Well, if we’re talking draft pedigree, sure, Jones has the edge. But when it comes to actually delivering on the field and leading the squad, Brock Purdy is making the louder statement—no question about it. But the debate isn’t done yet. Not so soon.

See, the Niners have tried different QBs before Purdy established himself as the team’s QB1. And Florio believes that Jones can pull out the same success for the team as Purdy did. “That’s going to be Mac Jones’ attitude,” Florio continued. “He’s going to go in there, regardless of whether or not it works … not with the idea that ‘I support Brock Purdy. No, I’m trying to beat Brock Purdy out, and I want to give the 49ers something to think about.'”

Now, that’s where things get pretty interesting. After the San Francisco team snagged Jones on a $7M deal for a couple of years, the QB admitted that he’s looking to learn from Purdy. “I know Brock personally, and he’s done a great job and played really good football in the NFL,” Jones said. “So I’ve been really watching him from afar on game film and stuff, and just want to learn from him and be a sponge.” Uh-huh!

The situation is a mess, folks. On one side, Florio believes that Jones is going to replace Purdy in 2025. And on the other, Jones is looking to learn from Purdy. But what about the Niners? I mean, they’re the ones to make a call, right? Well, it seems like Florio’s take on Jones replacing Purdy’s role might be true. The reason?

It’s the contract extension. The QB is demanding a hefty payday and the team still has to consider that.

Brock Purdy wants to take the QB crown?

It’s been almost two months since the 49ers ended their 2024 season. Plus, it’s also been almost a couple of months since the start of a contract extension negotiation between Brock Purdy and the San Francisco team. Did he get a deal? Absolutely not. See, Purdy is going to enter the final season of his rookie contract and wants an extension as quickly as possible. The catch?

Well, Mr Irrelevant wants a gigantic contract extension that may even surpass Josh Allen’s contract terms. Yeah, you read that right. If reports are to be believed, Purdy has his sight on a contract close to Dak Prescott’s contract. Yeah, that sounds ridiculous, but that’s what NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported a few days ago.

“Purdy is going to look at this (the average pay of QB in last few years is estimated to be 21-25% of salary cap) and say, ‘I need to be paid like one of the top quarterbacks in the league,'” Garafolo said. “If it’s on the low end of that, he’s going to clear guys like Trevor Lawrence. He’s not going to get to Dak Prescott’s number of $60 million per season, but he’ll be in the high 50s. If he really wants to push it to Joe Burrow who took the biggest who took the biggest chunk of the salary cap, that’s like $68 million per year.” Now, let’s be real—Purdy wants a contract extension, there’s no denying that.

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass during the second quarter against the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

That being said, don’t expect him to demand over $60 million a year. Why? Simple—the 49ers are already in full-on roster reset mode. If their QB comes with a sky-high price tag, that whole plan of building a stacked squad goes out the window. However, Garafolo believes that a contract close to Prescott’s current deal is on the cards for Purdy.

“I don’t see this getting done until Purdy and the 49ers agree on a number that’s close to Dak Prescott,” he continued. “Not all the way there, but close to Dak Prescott. Purdy is saying that’s fair, but it also still gives the team and John Lynch the opportunity to do things elsewhere on the roster.” Well, the 49ers would still consider before offering this massive contract to the QB.

I mean, if Purdy had led the Niners to the Super Bowl in the last season, then the circumstances would be totally different. But here we are: the guy failed terribly with a 6-9 record. That means asking nearly $60M or over per year sounds pretty odd, and the team surely has some serious thinking to do on this one. Do let us know your views.

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