The Chris Jones signing allows Chiefs Kingdom to finally exhale

When news broke late last night that the Kansas City Chiefs had reached a mega contract extension with star defensive tackle Chris Jones, two words immediately popped into my head: Thank goodness.

Thank goodness that the Chiefs just locked up one of the most destructive defensive players in the game. Thank goodness that a fan favorite in Jones, who loves Kansas City, is staying where he belongs. And lastly, but most of all, after a year of waiting, negotiating, and a holdout, thank goodness this whole contract saga is finally over.

What a relief.

Two words perfectly describe the feeling of Chris Jones' new deal with the Kansas City Chiefs

The exact details of the deal are still being finalized, but what we know from Adam Schefter is that Jones and the Chiefs have agreed to a five-year deal with $95 million in guaranteed money. According to Schefter, it’s an agreement that will give Jones the highest average annual salary for a defensive tackle ever. It’s a huge price tag, but it is a deal that's worth it, in more ways than one.

On the field, the Chiefs have secured the services of an absolute game wrecker in Jones. Throughout the playoffs and as recently as the Super Bowl, we saw the massive impact he can have on games, and how he can literally be the difference between winning and losing.

But this deal has just as much significance off the field too. Simply put, it was the right thing to do.

In the past, the Chiefs have shown that they’re willing to move on from great but expensive players. Tyreek Hill, Tyrann Mathieu, Charvarius Ward, and now potentially L'Jarius Sneed are all recent examples of that. But Jones is on a different level entirely, which is what made it far more important that the Chiefs brought him back.

Jones is a Chiefs legend. He is bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he is still at the peak of his career, he is the best player in the league at his position and he has said very publicly that he wants to remain a Chief for life.

If the Chiefs weren’t willing to pay Jones, who would they be willing to pay? What kind of message would that send to other players in the locker room?

Jones is a leader on this team, someone who is adored by pretty much everyone in the locker room. The way Andy Reid celebrated with Jones after the Super Bowl win and the way the playing group celebrated with Jones after his incentive-sealing sack in Week 17 are evidence of that. To let a guy that good and that loved walk would have been mind-boggling and potentially catastrophic.

It would have left an enormous hole in both the defensive line and locker room and had the potential to increase tension between players and an ownership group that has been criticized for being cheap in the past.

Thank goodness the Chiefs did the right thing by re-signing him instead.

Jones has been as important a piece to this Chiefs dynasty as anyone not named Patrick Mahomes, and he will no doubt play a critical role in Kansas City’s quest for a hat trick of Super Bowls. After the drama last offseason—the stalled negotiations, the holdout, and the inability to get a deal done—it seemed like maybe an agreement would just never eventuate.

Thank goodness it did.