Jon Jones and his issues with the pay he receives in the UFC have been a point of contention between him and the company for years. Dana White has blasted Jones on several occasions for allegedly demanding absurd amounts of money. Although recently, Jon seems to have gotten what he wanted from the UFC, signing a new 8-fight contract.
Jon Jones likely the second highest paid fighter in #UFC history because of recently reworked contract, says manager https://t.co/trnrvhKP2Y
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 16, 2023
“Bones” is slated to earn over $10 million for his upcoming fight at UFC 285, per his new deal. But how does his compensation stack up against his brothers’? For the uninitiated, Jon Jones has two brothers, Arthur and Chandler. They are both Super Bowl-winning football players, with Arthur retiring in 2017 and Chandler currently playing for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Arthur Jones’ NFL salary
By the time he retired, Jon’s older brother, Arthur Jones had made a quiet fortune for himself. He retired with an average yearly payout of $2.8 million. The first deal he signed with the Baltimore Ravens earned him $1.3 million over 3 years. When Jones re-signed with them, this figure only went up.
Colts are signing former Ravens DT Arthur Jones to a deal around $6 million per season, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2014
In 2013, Arthur signed a contract with the Ravens, entitling him to a payout of $2.03 million in just a year. He then signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2014 which gave him the biggest payday of his career. Jones signed a 5-year contract with the Colts, receiving a payout of $33 million over that time. In the next two years, he would make around $16 million.
The contract was renegotiated in 2016 with an average payout of $5.5 million set to expire in 3 years. But Jones lost out on half of that when he was traded to the Boston Redskins in 2017. Despite him retiring that same year, Arthur Jones managed to make a tidy $400k in Boston. And his total career earnings are estimated to be around $22 million as per Over The Cap.
Chandler Jones’ NFL salary
Jon’s younger brother, Chandler Jones’ salary makes Arthur’s career earnings seem insignificant. Just last year, Chandler negotiated a contract with the Las Vegas Raiders that guarantees him $31 million over 3 years. And this figure has the potential to go up to $51 million if all clauses are met. So far, he has made $16 million from this contract alone.
Chandler Jones is finalizing a deal with the Raiders worth $17 million per year, per @TomPelissero pic.twitter.com/Ou2q3nytEQ
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) March 16, 2022
Before joining the Raiders, Jones was signed with the Arizona Cardinals. The first contract he signed netted Jones around $7.8 million in 2016. The subsequent contract greatly increased his pay as Chandler would make the most money he has earned to date from this contract.
The deal Jones signed with the Cardinals in 2017 had a payout of $82.5 million. And Chandler received all of it before leaving the Cardinals to sign with the Raiders. That massive payout and his lucrative past contracts have meant Chandler Jones has earned over $115 million in his career as per Over The Cap. This puts his average yearly payout at over $10.4 million.
Jon Jones’ UFC salary
Before Jon Jones became the light heavyweight champion, he fought 7 different times. In all of those fights, he made a combined total of $290,000 excluding performance bonuses. Even on the night that he became champion, “Bones” made only $140k. This included his base salary of $70k and a win bonus of another $70k.
Jon saw the first serious rise in his pay at his first title defense. He was paid $200,000 as a base salary to defend the title against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and was also given PPV points. His total payout for that fight was $640k. He would also see his base salary doubled after this fight. In his next 6 fights, Jones would make $3.9 million, not including bonuses, according to MMA Salaries.
Jon saw a $100k hike in his salary during his fight with Daniel Cormier, making it an even half a million dollars. Jon’s base salary hadn’t changed since, which frustrated him. But now in 2023, Jon Jones signed a new 8-fight deal which will reportedly make him the 2nd highest-paid UFC fighter ever.
Over his career, Jon Jones has earned around $14 million. This is only a third of his older brother’s and just over a tenth of his younger brother’s career earnings. And his average yearly payout lands at just under a million, a paltry sum compared to his siblings. It seems Jones’ alleged demands for $30 million weren’t that outlandish after all.