Breaking Down Chris Jones' Chiefs Extension

Michael Ginnitti
Michael Ginnitti, Managing Editor & NFL/MLB ExpertMarch 11, 2024
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Chris Jones & the Kansas City Chiefs agreed on a blockbuster extension Sunday night that puts to bed any question about his immediate future.

Total Value

At 5 years, $158.75M, this contract becomes the 13th highest total value deal currently on the books in the NFL, sliding in between Daniel Jones’ deal in NY, & Derek Carr’s contract in New Orleans. In terms of non-quarterback contracts however, this contract chimes in 2nd only to Nick Bosa’s $170M blockbuster in San Francisco.

The 5 year term takes Jones through his age 34 campaign,setting this contract up to be a potential career-finisher for the future Hall of Famer.

Average Annual Salary

At $31.75M per year, Chris Jones’ new deal makes him the 18th highest average paid player in the NFL (for a minute). Only Nick Bosa and his mega deal in San Fran surpasses this number right now.

Highest Average Paid Non-QBs

  1. Nick Bosa, $34M
  2. Chris Jones, $31.75M
  3. Aaron Donald, $31.6M
  4. Tyreek Hill, $30M
  5. T.J. Watt, $28M


Only Donald, who was 30 years old at the time of his extension, compares in terms of age when speaking to these numbers. Nick Bosa was 26, T.J. Watt was 27, Tyreek Hill was 27 when they penned their most recent extensions.

Furthermore, the cash flow of this deal is structured to pay out a true $31.7M over the first 3 seasons (the practical portion of this contract). This also aligns with Donald’s deal, who secures $95M over 3 seasons, for a true $31.6M per year.

Nick Bosa’s contract, which comes with a 4 year practical guarantee, drops down to a $30.4M adjusted APY when portioning off this section of the contract.

BONUS STRUCTURE

The Chiefs kept things fairly neat and tidy here. Jones secures a single $30M signing bonus (spread out over the full 5 seasons for salary cap purposes). He then offsets his compensation in both 2025 ($15M) & 2026 ($16M) with early March roster bonuses. These bonuses are highly likely to be converted to signing bonus for cap saving purposes in the weeks leading up to each respective offseason.

Additionally, Chris Jones will secure an extra $100,000 per year by completing the necessary offseason workout programs.

GUARANTEE STRUCTURE

Jones secures an outstanding $60M fully guaranteed at signing on this contract, stemming from a $30M signing bonus, a $1.25M salary in 2024, a $15M roster bonus due next March, and a $13.75M salary for the 2025 season.

Next March, $35M of his 2026 compensation (a $16M roster bonus & $19M salary) will become fully guaranteed. That balance is guaranteed for injury at the time of signing (a not-insignificant for a player in his 30s).

This $95M represents the practical guarantee balance on this contract, spread over the next 3 seasons. The contract also contains an additional $6M of salary guarantee, but Jones must be on the roster in March of 2027 to secure the $3M early vesting lock, then on the roster in March of 2028 to secure another $3M of early guarantee for that upcoming season salary. While these guarantees help in forcing the team to make a decision, they don’t hamper the franchise from being able to move on from the player in that given year, so we don’t treat this $6M as practical guarantee for this reasoning. 

CASH FLOW

Had the Chiefs slapped a franchise tag on Jones this February, it would have accounted for $32.14M (120% of his 2023 compensation). Jones scores a little bit less than this for the upcoming season, set to earn $31.35M in 2024. It’s a small price to pay for another $64M guaranteed thereafter.

Annual Cash Payouts

  1. $31.35M
  2. $28.85M
  3. $35.1M
  4. $28.35M
  5. $35.1M

Cumulative Cash Payouts

  1. $31.35M
  2. $60.2M
  3. $95.3M
  4. $123.65M
  5. $158.75M

The 3-year payout is the number to pay attention to here, as it represents the 2nd most earned across this span for any non-QB in NFL history (Nick Bosa, $98.5M). Jones barely surpasses Aaron Donald’s $95M mark here (not accidentally).

CAP FLOW

Once Chiefs fans see this contract breakdown, only one number will stand out initially: $7.35M. That’s the cap hit for 2024 under these new terms. Well - sort of. Keep in mind that the structure of Jones’ 1-year deal for 2023 came with unlikely to be earned incentives that if met, would need to be accounted for on the Chiefs’ 2024 cap table. That adds an additional $4M to this year’s accounting, meaning Jones technically carries an $11M hit for KC this season.

From there, the numbers jump significantly, starting with a $34.85M cap hit in 2025. However, if the NFL salary cap jumps to $270M in 2025, this hit will only represent around 13% of that balance, a potentially tenable situation for the Chiefs.

Annual Salary Cap Hits

  1. $7.35M
  2. $34.85M
  3. $41.1M
  4. $34.35M
  5. $41.1M

If the contract remains untouched (no cap conversions), KC will hold $12M of dead cap ahead of the 2027 season against a $34.35M cap hit, offering up $22M of potential savings. It should be largely expected that the team converts some of Jones’ future compensation (possibly only the roster bonuses) into signing bonus to aid in roster construction over the next 2 seasons.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

All of Spotrac’s predictions & analysis surrounding this contract chimed in at 3 year deals. It’s important to remember that while this contract is posted as a 5 year deal, it’s essentially a 3 year, $95M contract for practical purposes.

With that said, Jones has surpassed all expectations of a “team-friendly” “compromising” contract to remain in Kansas City. Aaron Donald’s deal, based on both age, production, & leverage, was long considered a bit of a 1 of 1 across the league. Does Jones deserve to surpass him in all regards financially speaking?

Yes. Even if the numbers on the stat line or the analysis from PFF don’t necessarily back it up - the finances of the NFL do. When Aaron Donald signed his extension in Los Angeles, the league salary cap was $208.2M. This means Donald’s $31.6M APY represented a 15.1% allocation of the league cap at the time of signing. Fast forward to 2024, and Jones’ $31.75M only represents 12.5% of the upcoming $255.4M league cap.

This is why NFL contracts keep forging forward. Players don’t necessarily have to produce (or even contain ceilings that could see them potentially producing) at the highest level of their respective position group. Math matters, and in the case of Chris Jones & the Chiefs, longevity, production, a window of contention, & a hell of a money jump across the league - all equaled a monster pay day for #95 going forward.


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