Chris Jones holdout is hurting Chiefs' salary cap situation
One sign that the Kansas City Chiefs clearly anticipated that Chris Jones would be under long-term contract by now is their salary cap situation. According to the NFLPA public salary cap report, the Chiefs sit at less than $200K in salary cap space. That's the least among all 32 teams in the NFL and makes them […]
One sign that the Kansas City Chiefs clearly anticipated that Chris Jones would be under long-term contract by now is their salary cap situation.
According to the NFLPA public salary cap report, the Chiefs sit at less than $200K in salary cap space. That's the least among all 32 teams in the NFL and makes them one of only two teams with less than $1 million in cap space. While there is the more tangible realization by fans that Jones might not play in Week 1 of the regular season (or longer), the lack of a contract extension also causes a financial dilemma.
When the top-51 rule (only the top 51 players on the offseason roster count toward the cap) goes away on Sept. 7, the Chiefs could see their financial commitments climb significantly. They'll have to worry about dead money, injured reserve, and the cost of their practice squad, in addition to all the players on the 53-man roster. Suddenly, the team could have millions more to account for against the salary cap.
In other words, they need salary cap space and badly. It might be the last piece of leverage that Jones and his camp have to try and get a deal done. And that's only because the other options that Kansas City has might impact their future plans.
The contracts that look easiest to restructure are TE Travis Kelce, LG Joe Thuney, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and S Justin Reid. However, doing so would almost ensure that they remain in Kansas City for the life of their contracts.
Kelce would probably be the most amicable because I doubt he has intentions of playing elsewhere and I doubt the team would want that either. Yet, he also could be seeking an extension that pays him better than his current deal, which is notably a steal for the Chiefs. That could complicate things, especially when you're working with a soft deadline, but a restructure for Kelce could create as much as $6 million in cap space.
Another option could be extending K Harrison Butker. He has two years remaining on his deal, but an extension could free upwards of $2 million in cap space.
Now, the Chiefs could place Jones on the Reserve/Did Not Report list at the onset of 53-man roster cuts to help offset this issue. However, that could severely impact negotiations and bring the team that much closer to Jones missing regular season games.
Obviously, the ideal would be an extension for Jones. One that could free as much as $16 million in cap space for the 2023 NFL season. It's looking increasingly less likely that will happen ahead of Week 1, with Andy Reid sharing with reporters that communication with Jones' camp has dwindled.
Injured Chiefs DT Tershawn Wharton returned to practice on Tuesday
This a positive development for the Kansas City Chiefs at a position group that sorely needs it.
Featured image via Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
