Kansas City Chiefs star defensive tackle Chris Jones knows his team is getting a lot of hate heading into Super Bowl LVIII.
The villain role comes naturally for a team that’s a consistent winner. Just ask Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The Chiefs have entered that realm, reaching the Super Bowl four times in the last five seasons, and many believe them to be the next NFL dynasty if they can beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
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Chris Jones of the Chiefs celebrates defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 42-21 in the NFC wild-card playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 16, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
Jones doesn’t mind playing the villain, though. In fact, he calls himself “Stone Cold” in tribute to WWE star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. And he gave OutKick’s Charly Arnault his best WWE message to those rooting for the Chiefs to lose.
“Know your role and shut your mouth,” Jones said, smiling.
That exact line was famously said by WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but Jones’ teammate Travis Kelce brought it to the gridiron last year when he called out Cincinnati’s mayor, who was trash talking the Chiefs ahead of the Bengals’ meeting with them in the AFC Championship Game.
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Kelce added “you Jabroni” at the end of the line during his post-game interview.
Jones, though, knows what it took the Chiefs to get to this point in the season. So he’s taking the hate in stride.
“Yeah, good luck. In all honesty, I get it,” he said. “People get tired of seeing the same people win. That’s a part of it They grow accustomed to new guys winning every year, and we’ve been very fortunate enough to be in this situation three out of the last four years. So, good luck. If you support us, we appreciate it. We still love you.
Chris Jones of the Chiefs watches game action from the sidelines against the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium on Aug. 10, 2019, in Kansas City. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
“I think more so, for the destination, it’s about the journey you take to get there. We had a remarkable journey with the adversity we faced. A lot of young guys coming along on this team. A lot of new faces. It’s been very challenging to say the least, but it’s been very surprising to watch the young guys grow, watch the team grow, and watch the maturity grow to be right here today.”
For Jones, the 2023 season didn’t start off how he would’ve liked, as he held out from Chiefs camp due to a contract dispute. He ended up missing the opening game of the season, though he was sitting in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium, which gave Chiefs fans hope he’d return.
Jones ended up playing the next week and has been on the field since, collecting 10.5 sacks in 16 games, 30 combined tackles and four passes defended.
And he’s loving the incentives he’s picked up in his revised contract for this year, which includes a $1 million bump in pay for advancing to the Super Bowl.
So, Jones would love to make it three Super Bowl wins for his career. If that means more haters will join the bandwagon, so be it.
Chris Jones of the Chiefs gestures during the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 20, 2019, in Kansas City. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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Jones will be on another parade float.
