How much cap space does Chris Jones' contract *actually* occupy?

Looking at the big numbers in Jones' contract to see how it might affect them in 2025 and beyond.

Chris Jones signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday for a record-breaking 5-year, $158.75M contract with $95M guaranteed – all high water marks for the defensive tackle position. Jones is one of the most important players in the entire franchise that is the most important piece of the defense, so most fans are ecstatic about the signing. Others may share a little trepidation over paying a 30+ year old defensive tackle at the top of the market – a point when most players begin to take a step back in their play. Both are valid arguments, and are not mutually exclusive.

However, one of the elements that I have seen from Chiefs’ fans and especially non-Chiefs fans is that the team will struggle to pay their own after Chris Jones took such a massive deal. They think that tough decisions will have to be made after the team is consistently up against the cap paying both Jones and Patrick Mahomes the kind of money that they will be making.

Today, I set out to dispel this theory that’s begun to gain traction. I’ll take a look at Jones’ projected cap percentage moving forward, compare it to that of previous years to show that not only do the Chiefs still have some flexibility in their salary cap, they have already been dealing with these obstacles over the past several years.