George Karlaftis Loves Kansas City, Dislikes Chris Jones Nicknames

Chris Jones has a new nickname for fourth-year defensive end George Karlaftis, now that he’s gotten paid.

“No, no, no. Please don't call me that,” Karlaftis told reporters on Tuesday following the Chiefs’ first training-camp practice, his first comments since signing a $93 million contract extension that ties him to the Chiefs through the 2030 season.

So, Jones now calls Karlaftis “G-Money?”

“He’s called me just about everything,” Karlaftis replied.

The Chiefs are hoping Jones will again call him Super Bowl champion after this season. Jones and Karlaftis have combined for 55½ sacks since the Chiefs selected Karlaftis in the first round of the 2022 draft. The young defensive end credited Jones and the rest of his teammates in helping him reach that career milestone last week, his second NFL contract.

“It was a great process,” Karlaftis said. “Very respectful, I feel like, on both sides. I knew something was probably going to be done before camp, and I'm glad it did. And I'm happy to be here for a lot more years.”

“For me, it really starts with the team, Coach Reid, the guys on the team, the locker room, everything about this organization from the top down, really. Just amazing. No place I'd rather be, really. And then the city, my fiancé and I have grown to love this place, calling it home now, and it's awesome.”

What wasn’t awesome was the Chiefs’ 40-22 loss to Philadelphia in Super Bowl LIX. Karlaftis said that while he had the best year of his career last season, he hated the end result. There’s one thing on his mind as he, along with Trent McDuffie and the rest of the Class of 2022, aims to become the first in 32 years to play in Super Bowls each of their first four NFL seasons.

“As a team, speaking for everybody, we wanted to finish better,” Karlaftis said. “Our goal is obviously the Super Bowl. We just wanted to finish our season better, so I think a lot of this season's going to be about finishing out games. We were really close to where we wanted to get. We obviously didn't, and it's going to be a motivator for this upcoming season.”

This upcoming season will look a bit different in the pass-rushing category, thanks to the addition of third-round draft choice Ashton Gillotte. Karlaftis said he understands that his new contract comes with great responsibility, and he’s happy to mentor Gillotte the same way Chiefs veterans mentored him in 2022.

“I was extremely fortunate,” Karlaftis recalled. “Most of you probably remember, three years ago I had a guy called Frank Clark, and he was out here with me every single day after practice. I've been fortunate enough to know Ashton for a couple of years now, and in working with him and trying to pass down the torch, kind of like Frank did for me.”

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