Just in time, Bears lock down their top 2 picks
The Bears put the finishing touches on their invigorating offseason Tuesday when quarterback Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in April’s draft, agreed to terms on a standard four-year rookie contract and receiver Rome Odunze, the ninth selection, signed his.
Williams will make $39.4 million with a $25.5 million signing bonus, while Odunze will make $22.7 million with a $13.3 million bonus. Both deals are fully guaranteed. The Bears hold a fifth-year option on both players that they must trigger after their third seasons.
The agreements were made just in time —rookies and injured players were set to report to Halas Hall on Tuesday. Neither Williams nor Odunze could have attended without a deal.
The Bears had five more days for the distraction to turn into full-blown crisis — they’ll hold their first practice Saturday — but benefit from getting both rookies under contract. It had been two months since the Bears signed the last of their other draft picks.
Williams did not have a NFLPA-certified agent and, by league rule, had to negotiate directly with the Bears himself. The former Heisman Trophy winner from USC relied upon legal advisers. He referenced them numerous times this offseason — and most recently on Saturday — when stressing that he wanted to focus on football.
Williams decided before the draft not to hire an agent, a decision the Bears understood, given the certainty of his salary as the clear-cut No. 1 pick. They did not foresee any reason for concern when it came to negotiations, either, despite pre-draft rumors.
The reason: the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement has made salaries standardized. What little that was left to haggle over included language regarding the payment of guarantees, payments and, in the case players are cut, offsets.
Negotiations remained cordial, and the Bears showed Williams their support when general manager Ryan Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and receiver DJ Moore attended the quarterback’s “Caleb Cares” charity event Saturday in Pullman.
Signing both Williams and Odunze by the end of the day Tuesday was always the most likely outcome. Bears fans couldn’t be blamed, however, for wincing at the thought of the team’s last rookie contract fiasco. In 2018 — under a different front office and coaching staff — linebacker Roquan Smith held out for 29 days while the rookie’s agent negotiated for specific language regarding suspensions for the league’s new helmet violations.
Smith quickly hurt his hamstring during training camp and was limited to eight snaps in the Bears’ season opener, a one-point loss in Green Bay. At the end of the year, the Bears missed getting a playoff bye by one game — and lost their first postseason contest when Cody Parkey double-doinked a field goal.
There will be no such preseason drama this year. Training camp won’t be short on excitement with “Hard Knocks” cameras filming, though, after the Bears traded for receiver Keenan Allen and signed running back D’Andre Swift and tight end Gerald Everett to support Williams. The Bears will spend the next seven-and-a-half weeks continuing to learn the offense imported by new coordinator Shane Waldron, who spent the last three seasons with the Seahawks.
The Bears will open the NFL’s exhibition schedule in two weeks when they play the Texans on Aug. 1 at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
Williams said Saturday he was eager to get started.
“I’m excited to be able to get back … ” he said. “You start getting to the end of the break and you’re training and you’re ready to go. … I’m really happy to be back in Chicago and to get this thing going.”