Bear Digest

How the New CBA Can Directly Affect the Bears

Agreement covers 11 years, expands schedule to 17 games and playoffs to 14 teams

Gene Chamberlain

How the New CBA Can Directly Affect the Bears
How the New CBA Can Directly Affect the Bears /

There is football labor peace and so the Chicago Bears must come to grips with a bold new NFL world.

Now teams like the Bears must deal with the ramifications of the new collective bargaining agreement, which passed by a close margin.

The collective bargaining agreement passed a vote of players by a small amount, 1,019-959, so the changes proposed in it will go into effect including a change in the playoff system this season. The CBA will cover 11 seasons.

The changes include a 17-game season, which could go into effect in 2021. The expanded playoff format to allow an extra wild-card team in each conference begins this season.

One indirect impact of this on the Bears is it could help save general manager Ryan Pace's job.

With his contract expiring after 2021, a possibility could exist Pace would be fired after 2020 if they fail to make the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. So any extra chance to get in the playoffs can't hurt.

Need an example of what making the playoffs could mean? The Bears' playoff chances would have been impacted twice by this CBA if it was in effect the last decade, and they would have made the playoffs in 2011 and 2012 instead of missing them in a close race. Would Lovie Smith have even been fired after 2012 if they had made the playoffs in either of those years? It would seem doubtful. 

The biggest immediate impact could be on Pace's decision whether to pick up the fifth-year option on Mitchell Trubisky's contract. The deadline is May 5 and Trubisky would get $24 million. 

Under the old CBA the money was only guaranteed in case of an injury if it was picked up, but now in this new CBA it is guaranteed regardless. 

If Pace really is committed to Trubisky, he's going to have to take action in the next seven weeks. He might not even have another option in place at quarterback by then, either. There is talk of moving back the whole personnel acquisition process by pushing back free agency and/or the draft due to the coronavirus, and this would prevent the Bears from finding an alternative to Trubisky.

The vote expands the salary marginally, by about $10 million, to $198.2 million according to league sources.  

This could really make it all impossible for the Bears to keep Leonard Floyd on the fifth-year option they've already picked up. If they let him go, they save $13.2 million against the cap. This decision might have already been made, though, judging by the way they've spent some money it didn't seem like they had prior to the start of free agency.

The amount could change what teams tight against the cap like the Bears can do in free agency. However, it will expand the cap greatly in the future which could allow for much more spending since bonus money is prorated into the future years of contracts.

The vote seemed to put players into two camps, with lesser-paid players choosing to pass the CBA. Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson told the Chicago Tribune he voted "no" to the proposal and has tweeted his opposition to the CBA. 

Robinson has been outspoken on social media in opposition. He continued to voice displeasure on Sunday at the vote. Earlier, after the proposal was made, he urged players on social media to "rip it up."

However, it could actually be Robinson who benefits greatly by the new CBA being in place because more money available under the cap in the future for teams to prorate bonuses means the Bears could more easily afford his much-discussed contract extension.

The overall effect of the new CBA players was explained by former Bears linebacker Sam Acho, who signed in 2019 with the Bucs, took to social media.

The start of free agency negotiations is supposed to be 3 p.m. Monday. Free agency is largely a matter of signing contracts and could be conducted despite the fact many team employees are working from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It doesn't require traveling.

The Bears are currently scheduled to return to Halas Hall for team conditioning in mid-April and that could be delayed.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

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