The Chris Jones contract holdout on the Kansas City Chiefs is now stretching into Week 2 of the NFL season. Without their star defensive tackle, the Chiefs lost their 2023 opener to the Detroit Lions, 21-20. Now, with no end in sight to this contract dispute, an NFL salary cap expert is saying the longer Jones holds out, the less sense the move makes for him financially.

Per NFL rules, the Chiefs fined Jones $50,000 for each day he missed in training camp. Now, in the last year of his contract, which pays him $19.5 million this season, the All-Pro will lose his $1.1 million game check for each week he sits out. The fines add up to around $2 million, but those are post-tax, so experts say it’s closer to a $4 million hit. And as a veteran, the team isn’t allowed to rescind those fines.

“At some point the math [of the Chris Jones contract holdout] stops making sense,” an NFL executive well-versed in the salary cap told CBS Sports.

Right now, Jones has lost around $5 million in fines and game checks. He may be able to make that up if he gets what he’s looking for, which is Aaron Donald, and now, Nick Bosa money. That means around $30-$34 million per season.

However, if Jones does continue his holdout until Week 8 — the deadline to have 2023 count as a season on his contract — he’ll lose another $7.7 million, bringing his total losses to almost $13 million.

Heading into the Chiefs Week 2 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it seems like the Chris Jones holdout will continue unless the team caves or Week 8 gets here. Jones told the media ahead of Week 1 that he’s just an employee asking for a raise, and he doesn’t feel bad about that.