Report: Falcons will not give Julio Jones a raise

Julio Jones may not be getting what he wants from the Atlanta Falcons.

The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz reported on Wednesday night that the Falcons told Jones that they will not be restructuring his contract to give him a raise for this season.

Here’s what Schultz said:

The Falcons have informed Julio Jones that they have no plans to give him the raise that he is seeking before the 2018 season, but they maintain hope that Jones will report to training camp on time next week, The Athletic has learned.
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Sources familiar with contract talks told The Athletic the Falcons reaffirmed to Jones recently that they had not budgeted for a renegotiation this offseason and would not/could not rework his contract at this time.

Jones skipped the Falcons’ OTAs and minicamp because he wanted an “update” on his contract, which is a friendlier way of saying he wanted a raise.

Jones signed a six-year, $81.4 million contract before the 2015 season and is under contract through 2020. He is set to earn $10.5 million this season.

Jones is among the top wide receivers and playmakers in the NFL (here’s our rankings), so it’s understandable for him to want to be paid that way. But when you lock in a contract, it’s just natural progression for other players to pass you in earnings when they sign new deals, which is happening to Jones. It’s understandable for him not to be pleased about that.