All-Pro New York Jets defective tackle Quinnen Williams just got a massive contract extension before playing on his fifth-year option in 2023. That means a new Chris Jones contract for the Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro DT should be next, as he is entering the final year of his deal as well. And with the money Williams got, Jones can expect a lot of zeroes on his next deal.
How the Quinnen Williams contract affects Chris Jones
The Jets-Quinnen Williams contract extension cements the four-year veteran’s status as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league. As the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Williams has lived up to expectations, and his team has now rewarded him accordingly.
Williams was heading into 2023 on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, making $9.5 million next season. However, the Jets wrapped him up with a long-term deal on Thursday, giving him the second-most lucrative contract in history for a defensive tackle.
Repped by Klutch Sport’s Nicole Lynn (the agent who got Jalen Hurts his megadeal), Williams got a four-year, $96 million deal with $66 million guaranteed, which works out to an annual average value (AAV) of $24 million per season.
This deal, as is the custom in the NFL, slightly surpasses the contract signed by Tennessee Titans DT Jeffery Simmons, which had a $23.5 million AAV and $59.3 million guaranteed.
Now, the only player at this position who makes more money is Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald. The seven-time All-Pro signed a three-year, $95 million contract which was fully guaranteed. That works out to a $31.6 million AAV.
What does all this mean for the Chris Jones contract extension? Well, now Jones knows the exact window in which his contract should fall in. The Chiefs DT is entering the final year of his four-year, $80 million deal he signed with the club in the 2020 offseason. That deal included $60 million guaranteed and will pay him a base salary of $19.5 million in 2023.
Both sides seemingly want to get a deal done to keep the team’s best defensive player in the AFC West for the next three to four years, but progress has been slow. The Williams deal, along with the Jeffery Simmons contract extension and the Aaron Donald contract offers a road map for the two parties to get a deal done before the 2023 NFL season kicks off in early September.
Jones is just over three years older than Williams and three years younger than Donald. As such, he’s also in between the two in terms of accomplishment and upside. Here is a comparison between the three players' stats, keeping in mind that Williams has played three seasons, Jones seven, and Donald nine.
Aaron Donald: 138 games, 490 tackles, 160 tackles for a loss, 103.0 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, nine Pro Bowls, seven All-Pro teams, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and one Super Bowl
Chris Jones: 107 games, 243 tackles, 65 tackles for a loss, 65.0 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four Pro Bowls, one All-Pro team, and two Super Bowl
Quinnen Williams: 57 games, 191 tackles, 33 tackles for a loss, 27.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one Pro Bowl, one All-Pro team
There is no question that Aaron Donald is the most dominant DT in the NFL right now, and it’s not close, even though Jones and Williams finished third and seventh, respectively, in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season.
As Jones continues to negotiate a new deal with the Chiefs, he now has these benchmarks to go by, and it should make a compromise easier to come to between the two parties. There is no way Jones deserves less than Williams or more than Donald, so he should slot somewhere in the middle. At his age, it is more likely a three-year deal than a four-year pact, but the Chiefs do like to do long deals, as evidenced by the last Patrick Mahomes contact. After that decision, it is just a matter of degrees.
So, the salary window for Jones is between $25 and $30 million per season with $67 to $94 million guaranteed. This means we can now estimate that the next Chris Jones contract from the Kansas City Chiefs will be three years, $82.5 million, with $70 million guaranteed for an annual average value of $27.5 million per season.
That will make Jones the second-highest DT in the league and keep him in KC for the foreseeable future. It is a deal that works for all involved, and if it happens soon, the Chiefs and Jones’ agents have Quinnen Williams, Nicole Lynn, and the Jets to thank.
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