Bear Digest

The key point where Chicago Bears have aimed their new contracts

All of the three-year deals and the cash figures make it very apparent where bigger Chicago decisions will be made and why for the future.

Gene Chamberlain

New Bears center Drew Dalman has a three-year deal with an easy out for the Bears after two seasons.
New Bears center Drew Dalman has a three-year deal with an easy out for the Bears after two seasons. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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As the actual Chicago Bears spending in free agency has become more apparent, one thing is obvious and that's how they're gearing it all to the Caleb Williams contract extension.

This is no surprise but contract extensions paid out for Montez Sweat, Cole Kmet, Jaylon Johnson and DJ Moore all were four-year deals. Now, suddenly, the strategy is different a year into the future.

The key point, of course, is whether Williams produces in a way to make this contract extension occur. That point in the future becomes an easy start-over point for everything should the Bears need to bail on their current direction.

All three major signings made in free agency for the Bears were three-year deals and they'll need to pick up Williams' fifth-year option before the 2027 season.

Both of the contracts for free agent acquisitions Dayo Odeyingbo and Drew Dalman come with easy third-year outs after the 2026 season. Contract terms for Grady Jarrett haven't been released yet, but with $28.5 million in guaranteed money and three years on the deal it's unlikely to be drastically different than the other two.

Because they're all three-year deals, the low guaranteed money in 2027 for Odeyingbo and Dalman makes post-2026 an easy time to hold extension negotiations or for releasing a player, according to the terms reported by ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

The Bears have spent down to near the level of operating expenses, so more free agency spending will almost need to come from restructuring other contracts or releasing players.

The current Bears cap figure posted by Overthecap.com was $16.877 million left with the deals for Grady Jarrett and Durham Smythe still to be deducted from their cap total. It makes them 21st for available effective cap space.

One other key fact from these breakdowns is how the Bears are affected for the 2026 cap. They are down out of the top 10 now, at 15th overall with $67.2 million in effective cap space and extensions to Kyler Gordon, Joe Thuney, T.J. Edwards, Jaquan Brisker, Andrew Billings and others are due from that year.

According to Cronin's report, Dalman's cap figure is at $13.64 million for this year, then $14 million in 2026 and 2027, but according to Overthecap.com for 2027 there is $12 million in cap savings and just $2 million in dead cap if he's cut or traded.

With Odeyingbo, it's $15 million in cap savings and $4.5 million in dead cap for the 2027 season as $13.5 million of the final year is in cash.

Of the $48 million reported in Odeyingbo's deal, $1.5 million is a workout bonus applied evenly over three years and $1 million is a roster bonus he receives if he's on the team.

Dalman's workout bonus is $235,000 for each of the three seasons and $765,000 a year for a roster bonus, with his signing bonus at $2 million a year. The total guaranteed money on his three-year, 42 million deal is $26.5 million.

Potential positions to address still for the Bears with what little bit they'll have left are third receiver, linebacker, a return man of some sort and maybe a third tight end. They could fill in with an extra edge but any or all of these could also be addressed in the draft.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

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.