The sage that was the holdout of Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is officially put to rest as the two sides finally settled on an agreement that satisfies the star defender.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jones and the Chiefs agreed on a new contract that replaces the final year of his previous deal but will result in the seven-year veteran earning more money in incentives.
The specifics of the contract have yet to be released. Nonetheless, all that matters is Kansas City no longer has to wait for one of their best defensive playmakers to return to the team’s facilities.
General manager Brett Veach gave an official statement after the deal was reached.
“Chris is an elite player in this league, and over the last seven years, he’s really developed into a leader on our team. He’s been instrumental to our success and Super Bowl championship runs, and it was our priority 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.”
Upon entering the final year of his previous contract, which he signed back in 2020, Jones skipped out on various offseason activities and missed all of the Chiefs’ training camp and the entire preseason. He even held out during Kansas City’s 21-20 loss in the team’s season opener against the Detroit Lions last Thursday, watching from one of the suites in Arrowhead Stadium.
Jones’ holdout didn’t come cheap either. He left a $500,000 workout bonus and $1.08 million in salary on the table for missing the Chiefs’ first game of the season. He’s wracked up nearly $99,000 in fines for a three-day minicamp. He also received a $50,000 penalty for every day he missed during training camp and preseason – his reporting day was July 21 and lasted through September 3 (a total of 45 consecutive days).
In total, Jones’ holdout cost him roughly $3.9 million in fines and penalties.
UPDATE: Chris Jones’ new 1-year deal is worth up to $25M, with a base salary of $19.5M, per Ian Rapoport.
