Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was one of the few remaining players selected in the first round who had not received a contract extension. And now, we may know why the deal that eventually came on Wednesday took so long for both sides to agree on.
Williams officially signed his rookie deal, a four-year deal that will net him a total of $39 million over four years. But it turns out, the former USC standout didn’t get everything he was asking for in the deal.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Williams attempted to get a clause in his rookie contract that the team would not use the franchise tag on him when the four-year deal came to an end. These terms, which no rookie has ever gotten in their rookie deal, were not accepted by the Bears.
Very few veterans in the NFL have gotten this clause in their contract, let alone a rookie who has yet to prove a thing against NFL competition.
At the end of the day, this likely won’t end up being a huge deal for Williams. If he is as good as many project him to be in the NFL, the Bears will likely have no issue giving him whatever demands he wants in the future in terms of his next contract in the NFL.
But still, it is certainly interesting to see Williams try and make this demand in his first contract. If you are Williams, it likely would have been more effective to request this before the NFL Draft altogether.
Regardless, Williams will be getting no special treatment from the Bears in comparison to any other rookie player around the league.
