Agents claim new deal makes Chris Jones the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history

The Chiefs, like every team, will undergo changes from 2023 to 2024. They will be keeping their two most important players, one on each side of the ball.

Obviously, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was going nowhere. Defensive tackle Chris Jones could have.

On Saturday night, he agreed to terms on a five-year deal. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, there are minor deal points that still need to be resolved.

Enough of the deal was done to prompt Jones’s agents to declare that he will be the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history.

That’s significant, because the league’s top defensive tackles have been falling short of Aaron Donald’s three-year, $95 million deal from two years ago (that equates to $31.67 million per year). The closest anyone had gotten was Rans defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, who agreed to terms Friday on a four-year deal worth $24.5 million per year.

The details of the Jones deal will paint the full picture. How much is fully guaranteed at signing? That’s the most important factor, along with when and to what extent injury guarantees flip to full guarantees before the team could move on.

The first three years supposedly pay $95 million guaranteed, either “fully” or “practically,” depending on which media outlet you believe. That matches the Donald deal. It could be that it’s simply a three-year deal, with a pair of phony years on the back end that will drive the average beyond the Donald deal.

The real numbers eventually will emerge. Whatever they are, Jones won’t be moving on. He could have gone anywhere. He’s staying put. That will help the Chiefs continue to compete for more championships, beyond the three they’ve won in the past five seasons — with Jones being the most important player on the team’s defense, by far.