Prolonged contract negotiations with Pro Bowl DT continue to loom over Chiefs

Jones, who's entering the final year of his contract, is holding out of camp because he wants a deal that makes him at least the second-highest-paid DT in the league behind Los Angeles' Aaron Donald ($31.66M), via The Athletic's Nate Taylor. Yet Kansas City doesn't want to stretch its budget.

"The Chiefs, according to a league source, are unwilling to make Jones the league's highest-paid defensive tackle," wrote Taylor. "The franchise, which has played in three of the last four Super Bowls, winning two, doesn't have a single player who's the league's highest-paid at his position."

The frugal strategy has worked for the Chiefs. In 2022, they traded Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill to Miami instead of giving him a lucrative contract extension and still won their second Super Bowl in four years.

Nonetheless, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach told Taylor it has "no intention" of trading Jones. The 29-year-old finished with 15.5 sacks in 17 games last season and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. No other Chief recorded 10 or more sacks outside of Jones, so the organization must keep him.

However, Kansas City ranks last in the league in league cap space ($766K), per Spotrac. Although it could release players to create room, more is needed for a Jones extension. His Spotrac market value is a four-year deal worth $32.2M annually.

The Chiefs could wait until next offseason, but that will upset other stars because they want to solidify his future in Kansas City.

"I want these other guys to get paid. I want Chris Jones to be in training camp," Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes recently told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. " I want everybody on the team here."

The Chiefs should find a way to pay Jones before the deadline (Week 1 of the regular season). Otherwise, it will become a bigger problem for the budding dynasty.