Jones ends holdout with revised 1-year deal reportedly worth up to $25.17M
The Kansas City Chiefs will have their star defensive tackle back in uniform after Chris Jones agreed to terms on a new one-year deal, the team announced Monday.
The revised agreement doesn't include any additional years, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"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 in a statement. "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."
The four-time Pro Bowler was set to enter the final season of a four-year, $80-million extension signed in July 2020. He was due $19.5 million in 2023 under the previous terms of his deal, according to Spotrac.
In the revised agreement, Jones can earn the following incentives to take his deal up to $25.17 million, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio:
- $1 million for 35% playing time
- $1 million for 50% playing time
- $1.25 million for 10 sacks
- $500,000 for 15 sacks
- $1 million for first-team All-Pro nomination and Super Bowl appearance
- $2 million for Defensive Player of the Year award and Super Bowl win
His $19.5-million base salary reportedly remains the same (minus a $1.08-million game check for skipping the season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions), while his fines of $2.1 million for skipping training camp and the preseason weren't waivable.
Additionally, the Chiefs can still use the franchise tag to retain Jones next offseason, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
The new pact isn't the long-term agreement Jones was hoping for, but the 6-foot-6, 310-pound defensive lineman believes that staging a hold-in during training camp would've been a bigger distraction.
The two-time Super Bowl winner was training in Miami during negotiations. Jones said last week that he would've been able to play if a deal was signed before the team's opener. His status is unclear ahead of the Chiefs' road game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Jones' new deal follows an offseason in which several interior defensive linemen, including Daron Payne, Jeffery Simmons, and Quinnen Williams, landed long extensions.
The Mississippi State product has tallied 243 tackles, 65 sacks, and 65 tackles for loss through seven seasons with the Chiefs.