Chris Jones called his shot. At the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade, where they were celebrating their second straight championship and third in five years, Jones made it known — well in advance of his agent’s negotiations, mind you — that he was going to stay put.
Many believed that since Jones had a contract spat heading into this past season, he’d likely seek a huge payday on the open market once free agency opened.
However, with the chance to pull off the first three-peat in NFL history, Jones and the Chiefs came to terms on a massive, five-year contract that should keep him in a Chiefs uniform for the remainder of his NFL career.
The fact that the NFL salary cap increased by over $30 million certainly didn’t hurt Kansas City’s bid to retain Jones. He’s the best interior pass-rusher in the sport this side of Aaron Donald, so he was always going to be a major priority. It’s just wildly impressive that the Chiefs can find the room to extend Jones, still pay Patrick Mahomes all he’s worth, and possibly retain L’Jarius Sneed on the franchise tag (barring an eventual trade).
Lots of teams are actually on this trend of making sure to take care of their own.
KC fans have to be fired up about this. Many of them almost seemed resigned to losing Jones to another contender. It can’t be overstated how important he is to the dynamic defense that carried Mahomes and the offense through their frequent struggles throughout the 2023 campaign.
Between this extension and the less-hyped-but-still-lucrative deal for Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike at four years, $98 million, the interior d-linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft should get a huge stock boost.
Free agency already requires teams to pay a premium for players. Jones and Madubuike are only going to help Christian Wilkins get a huge bag, be it to stay in Miami or to go elsewhere. Any Super Bowl hopeful who needs a presence like Jones, Madubuike or Wilkins in the trenches should strongly consider the likes of Texas’ Byron Murphy II or Illinois prospect Johnny Newton in the first round. They’re both excellent players.
To continue on that train of thought, if you peek ahead to the 2025 offseason, Jones’ market-resetting contract paves the way for pending free agents like Donald (if he doesn’t retire), Kenny Clark, DeForest Buckner, Derrick Brown, and Alim McNeill to cash in big. Whether it’s after the upcoming season, or preemptive extensions are agreed upon in the coming months, those big boys have to be doing cartwheels over Jones’ massive payday.
The bottom line for the Chiefs, though, is that they wouldn’t have three-peated without Jones. I’m pretty confident in saying that. Now, they should be considered the favorite until somebody comes along and proves they can knock them off.
Whatever Kansas City does elsewhere in free agency is kind of irrelevant. As long as GM Brett Veach hits on another two or three draft picks, this team will continue to be a juggernaut thanks to Jones remaining in the fold.
