Earlier this week, it was reported that rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears’ No. 1 overall pick, had finally agreed to terms on his first contract with the storied franchise.
Williams reportedly agreed to a four-year deal with the Bears worth $39.49 million, which includes a $25.5 million signing bonus.
Although that looks like a pretty straightforward contract for a quarterback that gets taken at the top of the draft, there were reports of Williams being difficult throughout the process with some strange demands he wanted in the contract with the Bears.
Apparently, Williams wanted a clause to be in the contract that the team wouldn’t use a franchise tag on him in the future and that he’d get paid as an LLC, which are strange things to ask for, considering he is a player who hasn’t even taken a snap for the team yet.
On Friday, general manager Ryan Poles fielded questions about the strange contract negotiations with Williams but claims there wasn’t anything “shocking” in what the rookie quarterback was asking for, and he’s just glad the deal got done before training camp, according to John Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago.
“So it wasn’t anything shocking in terms of what was being asked for or anything like that. But at the end of the day I’m glad it worked out and pretty kind of standard,” Poles said.
This is a pretty typical response from an NFL general manager who doesn’t want any more distractions heading into training camp when it comes to the team’s new franchise quarterback, as that simply won’t help anything, even if Williams did make strange requests for a rookie.
The real question now for Chicago is whether Williams is the real deal under center and can be the player to help the struggling franchise become a force to be reckoned with in the NFC for the foreseeable future.
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