New England Soccer Today

Jones OK w/ Pay Cut, Still Wants Long-Term Deal

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Shortly after the Revolution were eliminated from the postseason, midfielder Jermaine Jones told the media that when it came to staying in New England, his primary motivation wasn’t the money. And on Monday, he reasserted that position in an interview with ESPNFC.com.

Jones, who is currently in camp with the U.S. Men’s National Team, remains in limbo at the club level. But he said that he’s willing to take a pay cut if he gets the security of a long-term deal that will take him through the 2018 World Cup.

“The point is that this is maybe my last deal,” Jones told ESPNFC.com on Monday. “I say to the team that I would take a cut and we can sit down and talk. But I want to have guaranteed years. I don’t want to sit here every year and say, ‘Where are you going? Where do you want get trade?’ I want to be focused to the World Cup and after the World Cup I want to say, ‘It’s done.'”

Last month, Jones tweeted that the Revolution offer was only 20 percent of his 2015 salary. Jones earned $3.05 million last year, which would put the club’s offer, according to Jones’ estimate, around $600,000 annually. It is unclear how many years are contained in the offer.

The 34-year-old midfielder said that the last time he spoke with the Revolution front office was prior to the holidays, but that no progress had been made to get a deal done.

“We emailed a little bit back and forth,” said Jones about his discussions. “But at the end of the day I told them I wasn’t happy with the offer, and that the offer wasn’t with the right respect, given what I did for New England. I told them, ‘If you really want to talk, then you have to come up with something [better].’ It has to show value, what I did for the club and for the team.”

Revolution general manager Michael Burns also confirmed that no headway had been made, and reiterated much of what he disclosed during an interview with Comcast Sports Net New England last month.

“There’s been no update, nothing different than before,” Burns told ESPNFC.com. “We’ve had discussions, and [Jones] knows what our position is, but there’s been no resolution yet. He hasn’t signed anywhere else, he hasn’t signed with MLS, and we’ve said he’s a player we’d like to have back. He’s got other options and he’s weighing what he wants to do. We’ve made that very clear to him and his representatives, and that’s kind of where it stands.”

Should Jones re-sign with the Revolution, or be traded within MLS, he’s facing a six-game ban to start the season for shoving referee Mark Geiger during the waning moments of the Revolution’s 2-1 knockout round loss to DC United.

“In that moment I was angry, and I go around to him to talk with [Geiger],” said Jones. “He walked away. It happened. It was a mistake, so I got suspended. I have to take it. But for me, I will come back and show all the people that I make mistakes and I take what comes. For me, I’m a guy who hates to lose. This is sport and I want people like that around me.”

Jones also dismissed any notion that, despite undergoing separate sports hernia surgeries and missing 13 games as a result in 2015, his best years are behind him.

“I came back in Germany when people said, ‘Ah, he’s done.,'” Jones said. “People say now that I’m 34, I’m old, but they support other players who are 35, 36, and nobody says anything. It’s really funny. Yeah, I’ve got my focus, and I will be back.”

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