Maurice Jones-Drew Ends Jacksonville Jaguars Holdout, Still Doesn’t Have A New Deal

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew has not been able to reach a long term deal with the Jaguars, but he has agreed to end his contract dispute.

The RBs 38-day holdout could end up hitting him where it hurts the most: his pocketbook. By missing the entire pre-season, Jones-Drew could be fined up to $30,000 per day and $60,000 for a three-day mandatory minicamp. That means Jones could lose up to $1.2 million this season.

Jones, who is scheduled to earn $4.45 million in 2012 and $4.95 million in 2013, wanted to renegotiate the remaining two years of his five-year $31 million deal. The running back’s request was immediately shot down by owner Shad Khan who didn’t feel it would set a good precedent to negotiate in the middle of a lucrative contract.

The news of Jones-Drew’s return was shared on Twitter by Rashad Jennings who tweeted:

“Just shared some love with (at)Jones-Drew32 in the locker room. Glad to see you back — Let’s work brah!”

Maurice Jones-Drew attempted to leverage his status as the NFL’s best running back in 2011 to create a better deal for himself. However, Khan instead only angered Maurice when he said his absence “doesn’t even move the needle.” Khan then warned his star player that the “train’s leaving the station. Run, get on it.”

As expected following his breakout year, Jones-Drew hopes to receive a higher paying contract in-line with the lines of Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson and Tennessee’s Chris Johnson.

Jones-Drew has run for at least 1,300 yards in every season since signing his lucrative deal in 2009. In 2011, Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 1,606 yards.

In the meantime, the Jacksonville Jaguars have reason to be hesitant; Maurice Jones Drew is now 29-years-old and given his tough play that sees a lot of hits, the team will likely want to evaluate his aging performance to determine if a more lucrative contract is warranted.