KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Just more than 37 hours before Chris Jones could have tested free agency for the first time in his career, the All-Pro and the Chiefs reached terms on a record-breaking deal for the defensive tackle.
The five-year agreement reached Saturday night includes $95 million in guaranteed money, as initially reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. While the final details of the agreement are being finalized, the $95 million guarantees are within the first three years of the contract with two additional years for salary cap purposes.
Jones, who made several cryptic social media posts during the past two days, delivered two brief confirmations of the agreement:
The size of the contract is the richest for an NFL defensive tackle. The total value of the contract is not yet known, but it’s expected to easily exceed the $98 million, four-year contract signed earlier this month by Baltimore’s Justin Madubuike. Washington’s Daron Payne signed a record $55 million fully guaranteed contract in 2023. Jones’ deal will match the $95 million in practical guarantees Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams received in 2022.
For the next three years, Jones will average $31.67 million in guaranteed money, matching the annual average value of Donald’s three-year extension. It’s expected the salary in the fourth and fifth years of the contract will inflate Jones’ total contract value and annual average value but that money will not be guaranteed.
It may still take a few days before the outstanding details are finalized and Jones put his name on the dotted line. While the new league year and the free agency period begins at 3 p.m. central Wednesday, March 13, the Chiefs and Jones can ink their deal at any time.
However, the Chiefs will likely need to make room for Jones’ contract under the salary cap. Trackers such as OverTheCap and Spotrac show the Chiefs with anywhere between $1.25 and $7.48 million in cap space when the new league year begins Wednesday — and that doesn’t include the new contract for Jones.
The Chiefs can easily create cap space by resolving the standoff with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed or restructuring the contract of quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Sneed, who currently counts $19.08 million toward the salary cap. Trading Sneed or reaching an agreement with him on an extension would likely create enough cap space to fit the new contract of Jones. The club also has the option of converting all of some of the $34.9 million roster bonus due to Mahomes into a signing bonus, which would create up to $27.92 million in cap room.
The agreement also avoids what appeared a potential frenzy for the services of Jones starting Monday. The free agency negotiating window opens at 11 a.m. central time Monday, and Jones would have ranked as the top free agent available. It’s entirely possible Jones could have landed an even more lucrative offer on the free agent market.
But Kansas City, where Jones has already won three Super Bowl rings, made him an offer to good to turn down.
