KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs finalized a five-year, $158.75 million contract with Chris Jones on Monday, keeping the All-Pro tackle in the middle of their defensive line as they chase a record-setting third consecutive Super Bowl title.
Jones will make $95 million guaranteed over the first three year, a person familiar with the details told The Associated Press on Saturday night, when the framework for the agreement was put in place. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the financial terms for one of the biggest deals for a defensive player in NFL history were not disclosed.
“Five more years of greatness,” Jones said in a brief video posted Monday on X, formally known as Twitter. “This is everything we’ve dreamed about, talked about. Now let’s get some more Super Bowl rings.”
Jones turns 30 in July, so the Chiefs are gambling that there will be no drop-off for one of the league’s top pass rushers.
“He earned every bit of this record-breaking contract,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. “Over the last eight years, he’s been critical to our success, including a significant impact in all three Super Bowl championship runs.”
“We are certainly proud to have Chris locked in here for the foreseeable future.”
His agents, Michael and Jason Katz, tweeted their congratulations to “the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history.” Jones later tweeted an “A+” to Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, whose ownership of the franchise was given a failing grade when the NFL Players Association released its annual report card at the scouting combine.
“Chris is one of the most talented players I’ve ever coached in my career,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s really grown into being the leader of our defense, and you’ve seen how he’s helped younger players become better at their craft. He shows up every day with the right attitude and energy, and that’s infectious in our locker room.”
Jones promised Chiefs fans at a victory parade following their overtime win over San Francisco in the Super Bowl that he’d be back to chase a three-peat, but that required getting a long-term deal done with a franchise bumping up against the salary cap.
The sides had tried and failed to do that the past two offseasons, and Jones skipped every offseason workout last year — including a mandatory minicamp and training camp — along with a Week 1 loss to Detroit while at an impasse. He piled up nearly $4 million in fines before agreeing to an incentive-laden one-year deal that got him back on the field this past season.
Jones proceeded to start every game in the regular season and playoffs, including a meaningless regular-season finale against the Chargers, when he got the last sack he needed to reach 10 1/2 for the season and trigger a $1.25 million bonus in his contract.
Jones’ teammates certainly harbored no ill-will for his holdout; they rushed from the bench to celebrate the sack with him.
Jones had another half-sack in a wild-card win over Miami in one of the coldest games in NFL history, then helped a team yet to play a road playoff game during its recent run win games at Buffalo and Baltimore. That sent the Chiefs on to their fourth Super Bowl in five years, and the overtime win over the 49ers gave Jones his third championship ring.
Now, the affable defensive tackle will have the opportunity to win a fourth in Kansas City.
Jones was picked by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Mississippi State, and he quickly earned a spot in the starting lineup. He was a second-team All-Pro in his second season, when he had 15 1/2 sacks, and then began his current run of five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances the following year.
He was voted a first-team All-Pro for the second straight season this past year.
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