Julio Jones, Falcons Finally Agree Contract Extension

The Atlanta Falcons will come out of this week looking like a proactive, well organized franchise. The news come from NFL.com that the Falcons have extended the contract of Julio Jones, who was acting out.

General manager Thomas Dimitroff announced Wednesday night that the wide receiver will attend the start of training camp on Thursday. Julio Jones had been absent from all organised team activity in protest to not getting a new contract.

It was expected that the Falcons would revisit his contract after the new season, but they’ve taken action now.

The two parties have agreed to a ‘revised contract’ that adjusts the wages of Julio Jones for the upcoming season. The adjustment will bring his wages in line with the market rate for outstanding wide receivers.

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Jones’ previous annual average of $14.25 million was ninth overall for his position. Now, his contract mirrors that of Antonio Brown. Brown was handed a pay rise in 2017 after he played out his old extension for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Read: Todd Gurley Signs Record Extension with the Rams

“We have had continued dialogue all offseason with Julio and his representation,” Dimitroff’s statement reads.

“We have come to an agreement with Julio, and we will re-address everything in 2019. I appreciate everyone’s hard work and communication on this.

“This adjustment does not impede us from working on other extensions with other key members of our football team. We will continue to work on those contracts going forward.”

The announcement comes just hours after Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn signed three-year extensions of their own. As well as that, Jones had three years left on his old contract. The Atlanta Falcons didn’t strictly need to renew his deal right now. Yet, they are entering the 2018 season well prepared, and ready to attack the Super Bowl.