KC Chiefs DT Chris Jones Hits $1M Incentive With Super Bowl Appearance
The Kansas City Chiefs were winners on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, and so were some of their players. Defensive tackle Chris Jones, specifically, got a bonus on top of an AFC Championship Game victory.
With Kansas City advancing to Super Bowl LVIII, Jones triggered another contract incentive benchmark. The veteran interior defensive lineman is getting $1 million added to his earnings for the season.
Jones, who held out during the spring and summer and through Week 1 of the regular season, had this as his final incentive possibility for the year. This likely-to-be-earned mark consisted of a first-team All-Pro berth and a team Super Bowl appearance for the Chiefs. He knocked out the first leg of this incentive when he was named to the All-Pro team earlier this month. Jones will end up missing out on a $500,000 incentive for not reaching 15 sacks and a $2M incentive for not winning Defensive Player of the Year and the Super Bowl.
Under his new contract agreed to in September, Jones has earned back a sizable chunk of money. Not only did he get a combined $2M for playing 35% and 50% of available snaps, but he got an extra $1.25M thrown on the books back in Week 18 for crossing the 10-sack threshold. At the time, Jones expressed his appreciation for being allowed to play in the regular-season finale and said he'd follow through on buying his fellow defensive linemen Rolex watches.
"The D-block knows that this was all for them," Jones said. "The only reason I played for them was because I wanted them to get a Rolex and I get to buy myself a Rolex without spending my own money. I told them at the beginning of the week, 'I'm only playing for you all because I want to get you all the Rolex. You all worked so hard this year.' A lot of guys invested a lot of time and not only their personal skills, but things I ask for throughout the year. Whether it's water for the rookies, they go out of their way to make sure I'm always watered up. The little things I ask for and I think for them, it's like a treat for them to show them my appreciation for being committed throughout the season."
It's been a productive campaign yet again for Jones, as the five-time Pro Bowler was one of Kansas City's best defensive players. In 16 games during the regular season, he accompanied his 10.5 sacks with 30 tackles (13 for loss), 29 quarterback hits and four passes defended. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, he played a combined 104 snaps with half a sack, four tackles and three quarterback hits.
Following a nice showing in the conference title game, Jones will now have some more cash and a Super Bowl to look forward to in the near future. The rich get richer, both literally and figuratively, in Kansas City.
