A big item on the offseason agenda for the Kansas City Chiefs is agreeing to a long-term contract extension with star DT Chris Jones as he’s in the final year of his current deal.
With a number of players at his position signing contracts this offseason, the market appears to be set. Jets DT Quinnen Williams is the only remaining domino left to fall and his deal could impact how much the Chiefs will have to pay to retain Jones.
But what might a contract extension for Jones actually look like given all that we know? His current deal was signed in July of 2020, with a four-year term worth $80M with $60M guaranteed.
The latest report from The Athletic’s Nate Taylor provided us with some key information on what Jones is looking for in a new deal. Jones is still looking to be at least the second-highest-paid defensive tackle in the league next to Aaron Donald, who is making over $31M per year on average with $95M in total guarantees. There are also expectations of a three or four-year extension.
If Kansas City can convince Jones and his camp to come to the table and get a deal done before Williams, that’d be ideal. We know that Williams is looking for a deal in the range of $25M – $30M per year on average. There isn’t much of a reason for Jones and his agents to come to the table to get a deal done before New York comes to an agreement with Williams.
Spotrac’s Market Value Calculator estimates that a new deal for Jones would be a four-year extension worth over $120M. He’d earn over $30M per year annually with his contract ranking as the 14th-richest in the NFL and the second-richest among defensive tackles. Keep in mind, this is based on age, production and comparable contracts at the interior defensive line position.
Titans DT Jeffery Simmons is currently No. 2 to Donald in terms of average per year at $23.5M. It’s possible that Quinnen Williams doesn’t reach the high end of the range he’s looking for with the Jets and the Chiefs won’t need to break the bank to retain Jones. The market has seen players like Simmons, Dexter Lawrence and Donald Payne sign for less than what seemed to be expected. It wouldn’t surprise if Williams was to only slightly exceed these previous deals.
An ideal sweet spot for Jones would be a four-year extension worth around $27.5M per year on average with $60 million or so guaranteed (a big chunk guaranteed at signing) and around $29 million in signing bonus. The key would be providing the Chiefs with some cap relief earlier in the deal before cap numbers balloon to grow with the rising salary cap. It’d keep Jones under contract until he’s 33 years old, but then expect that last year to be a get-out year for Kansas City should production begin to dip for the veteran defensive tackle.
