Chiefs DT Chris Jones gets massive new contract as he leans on God

Fresh off a victory in February’s Super Bowl LIV, the Kansas City Chiefs have focused their efforts during the 2020 offseason on keeping the team’s star players in red and gold for years to come.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that the Chiefs will sign defensive tackle Chris Jones to a four-year, $85 million contract with $60 million in guarantees. The deal comes only a week after Kansas City gave quarterback Patrick Mahomes the richest contract extension in NFL history.

The 2019 season was Jones’s final year of his rookie deal. The Chiefs have until Wednesday at 4 p.m. to make his new multi-year contract official, or else Jones will play the 2020 season under the franchise tag he was handed in March.

The 26-year-old Jones anchored a Chiefs defense that held opponents to 19.2 points per game last fall as the team posted a 12-4 regular-season record. He recorded nine sacks and 36 combined tackles following a breakout 2018 season in which he racked up 15.5 sacks and 40 combined tackles.

In the week leading up to the Super Bowl this February, Sports Spectrum had an opportunity to talk to Jones about his impressive season and the faith in Christ that was instilled in him from an early age:

“I believe my faith is everything and that’s what I live by,” Jones said in the interview.

Later, he added, “I feel like my faith and my belief helped me stay grounded within [the season] because through my tough times, I try to go look at the Bible and look at Bible quotes and try to relate those to my situations. And that kind of helped me get through.”

Jones often speaks about his faith on social media. His Twitter bio says “I am second” and he thanked God after the news broke about his new contract with the Chiefs.

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