Understanding both sides of the Chiefs contract negotiations with Chris Jones

As Chris Jones and the Kansas City Chiefs attempt to come together on a long-term deal, it’s important to understand the approach of both sides.

Chris Jones is rightfully considered the Kansas City Chiefs‘ best defender and is arguably one of the best overall defensive players in the league. In fact, according to Pro Football focus, he graded as the fifth best defensive lineman in the NFL last season, mostly attributed to his pass rush ability. He exploded in 2018, setting a career high with 15.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss and he’s getting demonstrably better with each passing season.

Unfortunately, Jones has been making headlines of a different sort lately—all for his contract holdout. Since Jones was a second round pick, his rookie deal was only for four years and he is entering the last year of his deal in 2019. The realm of the gridiron is a vicious one, with players sustaining major injuries even in non-contact situations due to the beating their bodies take on a regular basis. As such, Jones is looking out for his future by expecting a long-term deal before the season starts.

Now we enter into what is probably the least fun part of professional football for the fans, but likely the most important part for players. The negotiations for a major contract extension can often become contentious, something Chiefs’ fans have seen multiple times with both Justin Houston and Eric Berry. So it’s easy to see why Chiefs’ fans become concerned when another star player enters the negotiation ring.

Recent reports are unnerving and indicate the two sides are far apart. However, anytime there is a somewhat public negotiation, it’s important to take a step back and sift through the headlines to understand why each party does what they do. Let’s contrast the two approaches.

Side A: Chris Jones

Look, Chris Jones deserves to get paid. That word “deserves” can often sit poorly with fans who work paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to go to a game or pay $200 for an NFL jersey. After all, it’s a game and he’s already paid in an exorbitant fashion compared to the majority of mankind. There’s definitely an argument, or sentiment at least, that athletes are paid far too much. Let me just say that I understand that sentiment before I make this point.

Economically speaking, these salaries are all determined by the free market. We as consumers choose to consume literally every piece of content that the NFL produces, making the league a ridiculous amount of money through ticket sales, merchandise sales, television contracts, advertising, etc. There are numerous ways the league makes money, that it then divides between the 32 member teams. Unfortunately, if you want the players to stop making so much money then you have to consume less of the product. This goes for all major sports.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about what the market for a player like Jones is. Jones is an ascending player. Like I mentioned before, he exploded last season and was both from a basic and advanced statistical standpoint one of the best defensive lineman in the entire league. What’s more, from all appearances he’s gotten better every single year and it’s unlikely that will change at least in the very near future. Players like this tend to get paid a lot of money.

Think about Aaron Donald. Jones isn’t on the level that Donald is, but he is close. Donald got a record-setting contract last season and Jones is likely eyeing the same neighborhood What’s also important is the Chiefs just signed brand new teammate Frank Clark to a monster deal for five years and $105.5 million, with $43.8 million guaranteed. Clark may be an edge defender, but we’re kidding ourselves if that didn’t give Jones a pretty good idea of what he wanted for his contract.

Let’s take it one step further with the Clark deal. This deal has put Jones in somewhat of a precarious situation. It’s reported that he wants a lot more guaranteed money than the Chiefs are willing to give him. Reports are that they aren’t close when it comes to guarantees. Some fans might wonder why this matters so much. Here’s the thing, it’s unlikely that both Clark and Jones will both make it through their respective contracts. It’s also pretty well known that outside pass rush is considered imperative whereas interior pass rush doesn’t seem to be as highly valued, whether you agree with that or not.

It’s possible that Jones, if he doesn’t perform, could be cut in year four if the price tag seems too high. It’s likely the team would move on from him before they move on from Clark, simply based on the value of their positions. So in actuality, for Jones at least, the emphasis is all about the guaranteed money. The total number is virtually meaningless.