Julio Jones is seeking a new contract from the Atlanta Falcons, and the star wide receiver reportedly does not plan to report to training camp unless he gets one.
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Jones will not be at training camp on Thursday without a raise.
Julio Jones does not plan to report to Falcons on schedule Thursday without an adjustment to his contract, which has three years remaining, per league sources. He is set to make $10.5 million in 2018. The team is aware of his mindset at this time.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) July 24, 2018
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network adds that Jones is comfortable sitting out all of training camp if need be. Since the Falcons have made it clear he will not be getting a new contract, that may end up happening.
#Falcons WR Julio Jones does not plan to report to camp and he is comfortable sitting out the entire time, sources said. He is still seeking a contract adjustment, while the team made clear to him they did not plan to give him one. He appears resolute in his mindset.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 24, 2018
During his time in Atlanta, #Falcons WR Julio Jones has been a model teammate and his strong stance has surprised some. But he is also a very savvy businessman off the field. He knows value. So this is not out of character. Either way, the team won’t see him for a while.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 24, 2018
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. He already skipped mandatory minicamp.
Jones is among the top wide receivers and playmakers in the NFL (here’s our rankings), but his $10.5 million salary for 2018 places him well below the top-paid players at the position.
