Report: Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones Agrees to Contract
Back when the Kansas City Chiefs were preparing for their Super Bowl LVII matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, defensive tackle Chris Jones said his contract situation with the team would "eventually work itself out." Several months later — a lot longer than most originally anticipated — things have found an intriguing way of working out for him.
Jones's holdout is set to end, as the star interior lineman has reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with the team. With that said, it's not an extension of his current deal.
On Tuesday morning, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the new Jones deal keeps his prior base of $19.5 million the same but allows him to earn "up to $25M" with his "incentives package." The Chiefs will also maintain the flexibility to franchise tag Jones in the spring of 2024 if they so choose. The incentive structure, which allows Jones to potentially make up the money he lost via fines and a missed game check, is outlined by ProFootballTalk on X. Here's the abbreviated version:
- Same base salary minus one game check from Week 1
- $1M incentive for 35% of playing time
- $1M incentive for 50% of playing time
- $1.25M incentive for 10 sacks
- $500,000 incentive for 15 sacks
- $1M for First Team All-Pro and Super Bowl appearance
- $2M for Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl win
Holding out for the entirety of the Chiefs' offseason program, training camp and the 2023 preseason, Jones was reportedly seeking a contract that would bridge the gap between the second-highest-paid defensive tackle (Quinnen Williams at $24 million per year) and the top player at the position (Aaron Donald at $31.7M AAV). Different figures were floated around, with Nate Taylor of The Athletic being consistent in his reports that Jones wanted an annual salary of $30M.
The Williams extension didn't get finalized until mid-July and while it wasn't a full market-affecting contract, it helped provide some more context to the Jones situation. Now, per Schefter, Jones gets the opportunity to make a major chunk of money in 2023 before potentially hitting the free agent market in the spring. This is the final year of a four-year, $80M contract Jones signed back in July of 2020.
Taylor confirmed that Jones received "multiple incentives," also stating that Jones is expected to be in uniform for the Chiefs' Week 2 outing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In an official release from the Chiefs on Monday afternoon, here's what general manager Brett Veach said about the development:
"Chris is an elite player in this league, and over the last seven years, he's really developed into a leader on our team," General Manager Brett Veach said. "He's been instrumental to our success and Super Bowl championship runs and it was a priority for us to keep him in a Chiefs uniform. I'd like to thank Chris and his representation, Michael and Jason Katz, for their desire and patience to get this done. Through this process two things were obvious, Chris wanted to be a Chief, and the Katz brothers worked diligently on his behalf."
Appearing at a Ronald McDonald House Charities event prior to the Chiefs' first game of the 2023 campaign, Jones spoke about his contract situation and subsequent holdout. When asked whether he felt he was letting his teammates down by not being with the team, the 29-year-old asserted that he simply wanted a raise:
"How?" Jones asked. "That's what I've got to ask: how have I let them down? It's just like when you're at a job and you ask for an extension, right? You ask for a raise, right? You're not letting anyone down. Who are you letting down for asking your boss for a raise? When you take the personal feelings out of it, you kind of can get it. I'm just asking for a raise."
Placed on the reserve/did not report list when the Chiefs set their initial 53-man roster, Jones had a significant amount of money not counting against the team's salary cap. Additionally, he lost out on a game check of $1.08M for missing the club's season opener against the Detroit Lions and was already owing well over $2M in fines due to not reporting since the start of training camp. Coming to terms on a new contract not only helps put a stop to the holdout, but it also provides some clarity for Kansas City from a financial standpoint.
In seven seasons with the Chiefs, Jones has played in 107 regular-season games and recorded 243 tackles (65 for loss), 146 quarterback hits, 65 sacks and 33 passes tipped. He's coming off the best season of his career in 2022 when he amassed 15.5 sacks and played a critical role in bringing the franchise its second Super Bowl title with him on the roster. Now, both sides can move forward and get back to chasing a repeat performance.
