GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Datone Jones is now ready to begin his NFL career, agreeing to terms on his rookie contract with the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday.
Jones, the 26th overall pick in the 2013 draft, will receive a four-year contract that is worth $7.71 million over four years, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. FOX Sports was the first to report the signing.
Last year's No. 26 pick, Whitney Mercilus of the Houston Texans, signed for four years and $7.634 million, with $6.55 million guaranteed and a $3.99 million signing bonus. Also, the player selected directly after Jones in the 2013 draft, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, agreed earlier this week to a four-year, $7.62 million deal with the Texans, including a $3.92 million signing bonus.
Those numbers were used as a starting point in negotiations between Jones and the Packers.
Jones, who turned 23 years old today, can now celebrate his birthday in style.
Green Bay has its first training camp practice Friday morning. That will be the first chance for Jones to prove that he's the difference-maker on the defensive line that the Packers drafted him to be.
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