The Ravens beat the clock this week by re-signing star defensive lineman Travis Jones to a three-year contract. Jones has enjoyed a breakout season this year, and the $40.5 million figure that the Ravens presented him reflects his value. But, up until the extension, Jones and the NFLPA had been fighting the league in a grievance over Jones’s contract status.
When NFL players are drafted, they ordinarily sign a four-year rookie contract.[1] If the player is on full-pay status for at least six regular season games in a given year, then the player has “accrued” a year.[2] But a player cannot accrue a season if “he failed to report to . . . preseason training camp on that player’s mandatory reporting date.”[3] If a player accrues four seasons during the four-year rookie contract, then the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.[4] Unrestricted free agents are able to negotiate and sign with any team.[5] If the player fails to accrue four seasons, then the player becomes a restricted free agent.[6] If restricted free agents receive a “qualifying offer” from the team that drafted them, then they are unable to sign with other teams unless the team provides draft pick compensation.[7] Ordinarily, the qualifying offer is pennies in comparison to what the player would receive on the open market. And, due to the shift in leverage caused by the lack of available suitors, players are likely to receive less under the contract that they negotiate after the qualifying offer.
Travis Jones was on full-pay status for at least six games for each of the first three years of his career, and he has already completed six games this season. However, the NFL contended that Jones would be a restricted free agent after the 2025 season because he failed to report to training camp on time during one of the seasons.[8] Reports are silent as to what year this infraction occurred and why it happened in the first place. Nonetheless, the league’s stance was that a late reporting date rendered one season unaccrued, resulting in Jones being a restricted free agent.[9] The NFLPA responded by filing the grievance.[10]
Then, with the grievance’s hearing pending, the parties put an end to the matter by signing the extension.[11] It’s a win-win for both sides: the Ravens keep their defensive line intact, and Jones got the money he wanted. He told ESPN, “We just wanted to get the deal done. We got it at the right number. I’m happy we got it out of the way.”[12]
From the NFLPA’s perspective, the general issue that caused this grievance is still unresolved: the clause in the CBA still exists and allows the NFL to assert that other players like Jones are restricted free agents. Such a determination is disastrous for a player’s leverage. The NFL has grown accustomed to players receiving inordinate amounts on the open market; choosing to “take the bag” in that sense is among the key bargaining tools that players have in negotiations. If that tool is regularly taken away from up-and-coming players, like Jones, the impact on extension salaries will be significant.
[1] NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 7, § 3 (“Rookie Contracts”).
[2] NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 8, § 1 (“Accrued Seasons Calculation”).
[3] Id.
[4] NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article I.
[5] NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 9, 1 (“Unrestricted Free Agents”).
[6] NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article I.
[7] NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 9, 2 (“Restricted Free Agents”).
[8] Jamison Hensly, Ravens, DT Travis Jones reach extension before grievance hearing, ESPN (Dec. 11, 2025).
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
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