Bear Digest

DJ Moore Receives Huge Contract Extension

The top Bears wide receiver is getting a four-year contract extension, reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter as $82.6 million guaranteed and $110 million total.

Gene Chamberlain

DJ Moore is all smiles at practice and should be after receiving a reported four-year contract extension for $110 million.
DJ Moore is all smiles at practice and should be after receiving a reported four-year contract extension for $110 million. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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Bears wide receiver DJ Moore has had a bit of a quiet training camp until Tuesday, when he caught a deep ball from Caleb Williams for a touchdown, turned looked back at his QB and jumped up and down in celebration with his arms upraised.

Then, after practice, he could celebrate even more—a lot more.

According to the Bears, Moore received a contract extension of four years, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported it is for $110 million, including $82.6 million guaranteed.

Contract extensions for some Bears seemed likely, but Moore's deal didn't expire until after 2025. Keenan Allen and Teven Jenkins both have deals expiring after 2024.

The Bears had a bit of a disparity in their cap situation because Moore is their best receiver and he was slated to count $7 million less against the salary cap this year than Allen, who is 32 years old and was acquired for a fourth-round draft pick. Moore's cap hit was to be $16.05 million this season and Allen's $23.1 million.

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The contract moves Moore up to seventh in average pay at $27.5 million and is a bit of a bargain for the Bears considering how high the wide receiver market soared this offseason, and only figures to climb more in the near future.

For instance, Justin Jefferson received a deal averaging $35.5 million, Amon-Ra St. Brown $30 million and A.J. Brown $32 million. Jaylen Waddle received one averaging $28.25 million, all figures according to Spotrac.com.

Moore is coming off a career-best 96 catches for a career-best 1,364 yards. His eight TD catches last year were also a high. He has 460 receptions for 6,565 yards and 29 TDs in his career with the Panthers and Bears and has been at 1,157 yards or more in four of his six seasons.

The other big improvement Moore had last year was a career-best 70.6% catch/targets ratio, the first time he'd been over 64.4% since his rookie year.

Despite all of his accomplishments, Moore has still not broken through with a Pro Bowl berth or All-Pro honors.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.