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The contract numbers for Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones are in. Here’s a quick look at some of the details that we know of as we await the full year-by-year contract breakdown.
According to a number of reports, Jones’ contract is for four years and reaches a total value of $85 million. Jones’ deal comes with $37 million in guaranteed salary with a total of $60 million guaranteed in case of injury. There are $5 million in incentives attached to the contract as well.
How could this be, though? Those seem like big numbers and the Chiefs only had around $6.2 million in salary-cap space for 2020 when the day began. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Jones is scheduled to make roughly the same amount on his new deal as he would on the franchise tag in 2020. That number was set at $16.1 million for the 2020 season.
It’s even possible that Jones’ deal could clear some cap space in 2020. That’s an important detail as Kansas City has yet to sign any players from their rookie draft class. That should be the next order of business for the Chiefs following this deal, especially with the rookie report date for training camp coming up later this week, assuming no delays from the coronavirus pandemic.
Another unique feature of Jones’ deal is that it has no signing bonus money attached to it. That means, like Patrick Mahomes’ extension, it’s a team-friendly contract in the sense that they could convert a portion of his base salary to signing bonus in order to create cap space in the future.
Expect some other unique features in the contract such as roster bonus mechanisms like the ones that Mahomes has attached to his deal. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of those in the future as the Chiefs continue to extend their veteran players.
Remember, Jones requested a $20 million average-per-year contract from the team. That’s the number that Kansas City had to hit to make him feel he was valued appropriately by the franchise. As with Mahomes deal, the Chiefs’ front office wanted to ensure future flexibility to keep other star players on the team. This contract is a good compromise between giving Jones the contract he wants and having future flexibility to sign other players.
On the surface, it looks like a good deal for both the Chiefs and Jones. It’s not without risks, though, as the team will shell out $37 million in guaranteed money at signing. But the window to contend for Super Bowl titles is right now in Kansas City. Keeping a dominant player like Jones a part of that window is certainly worth any accompanying risks.
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