Chris Jones ends holdout with Chiefs after agreeing to one-year deal
Jones has been holding out since training camp as he wanted to be paid more than his $20 million salary this year
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones and the Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to terms on a one-year deal, ending his holdout, the Katz Brothers (Jones's agents) confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Jones reached an agreement to have "multiple incentives" attached to the final year of his contract with the team, which are expected to have him "earn considerably more money this season," per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
With no long-term deal agreed upon, Jones is still set to be a free agent after this season.
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Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is seen during Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12, 2023. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Jones was set to make $20 million this season as the final year of his four-year, $80 million pact with the Chiefs.
He’s been stern with his belief that he deserves more money entering the final year on his deal with the Chiefs, which led to holding out all of training camp and the team’s Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jones was in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium to watch his team fall without him or star tight end Travis Kelce, who suffered a knee injury two days prior to the game, on the field.
CHIEFS' TRAVIS KELCE BEGS STAR TEAMMATE TO ‘PLEASE COME BACK’ FROM HOLDOUT
Jones is coming off a first-team All-Pro designation for the first time in his career after previously being named second-team All-Pro three times as well as being selected to the Pro Bowl in four straight seasons with Kansas City.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With defensive tackles around the league getting paid massive long-term extensions — including the New York Jets’ Quinnen Williams, the New York Giants’ Dexter Lawrence and the Tennessee Titans’ Jeffrey Simmons — Jones, who recorded 15.5 sacks in 2022, wanted the same treatment.
Travis Kelce, left and Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12, 2023. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Jones sat out all of training camp and even went on social media to say that he wouldn’t mind holding out until Week 8 of the regular season, adding, "I can afford it" when a fan posted, "That’d be a hefty tab." It would've been a total of $1.1 million in game checks if Jones did hold out that long, and he was subjected to $50,000 in fines for each day of training camp missed.
His Chiefs teammates have wanted him back in the building, though, as Kelce said on his "New Heights" podcast, "Chris, can you please come back? You’re really scaring me."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You must know something that I don’t know because I just don’t get it," Kelce added last week. "I really want to get another Super Bowl ring with you, brother. This is me bargaining you to just come back and play football for the Chiefs. Please, we need you. We need you bad."
Kelce added that he believed Jones was "the best defensive player in the league right now," and that he deserved all the money in the world.
Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts as he takes the field prior to the AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 29, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jones, a product of Mississippi State, still has an unknown future in Kansas City, but that can wait for another year. The Chiefs are certainly happy he is back in the building and on the field to help their team gun for another Super Bowl title.