With the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft going after his first professional contract with the Chicago Bears without the assistance of an NFLPA-certified agent, Caleb Williams the quarterback will soon become Caleb Williams the businessman.
There’s no reason to worry that Williams won’t show up late for training camp in July because of the negotiations, but it’s normal for a player going it alone to have concerns about his contract with a close circle of advisors rather than an agent who could speak with the organisation on his behalf.
Williams stated after a three-day minicamp ended Thursday at Halas Hall, “I’ve been focused on these past three days of minicamp, the (organised team activities) before that and rookie camp before that.” “I haven’t given the contract my whole attention.” Poles and my team, led by General Manager Ryan, have been concentrating on it.
“I have solicitors and solicitors to handle things like that so I can enjoy going into work every day and working my tail off, being free-minded on the pitch.”
Williams is anticipated to return to his job on the pitch the following week. Rookies had three more days of OTAs on Monday through Wednesday in what coach Matt Eberflus described as sort of a quarterback camp, while veterans started their summer break as minicamp came to an end.
Four of the top ten picks in the league and 17 other first-round picks had signed contracts as of Thursday morning. The highest-drafted player to sign is quarterback Drake Maye of the New England Patriots, who was selected third overall. Similar to Williams, quarterback Jayden Daniels (No. 2) of the Washington Commanders is unsigned.
It makes reasonable that the parties are still in the planning stages. Williams must negotiate on his own as he hasn’t engaged an agency.
By delaying talks until the conclusion of the optional offseason programme, he has been able to focus on football and become familiar with Shane Waldron’s offence while he becomes used to playing at the professional level.
Williams has managed to avoid being pulled in several different directions, so it wouldn’t be shocking if the teams begin contract negotiations the following week, following the conclusion of rookie class OTAs.
The Bears are playing in the Hall of Fame Game against the Houston Texans on August 1 in Canton, Ohio, so there’s no reason to worry that they won’t sign Williams before training camp begins, which will be a week sooner than normal.
Williams’ four-year contract, which includes a $25,537,132 signing bonus, is anticipated to be valued $39,486,057. Rookie contracts are arranged based on draft picks.
The contract is anticipated to have a salary-cap amount of $7,179,283 for this season, with a club option for the fifth year in 2028.
The only thing that is usually negotiable with these contracts is possibly a little amount of the wording. The figures shouldn’t alter.
For Williams and the Bears, this should be a smooth procedure because of this. It is unlikely that Williams representing himself will cause problems, as general manager Ryan Poles encountered with linebacker Roquan Smith soon after taking over in 2022. In contrast to second contracts, which Smith was aiming for at the moment, rookie contracts are straightforward.
When Smith, the eighth overall pick in his class, was the final pick to sign, the Bears had not had a draft pick miss a major portion of training camp since 2018.
He delayed signing until August 13 due to negotiations between the parties over a clause in the contract that said he may lose guaranteed money if he was suspended or kicked out due to rules revisions pertaining to helmet-tackling. Smith had an NFLPA-certified agent working for him at the time.
Bears first-round selection Cedric Benson in 2005 went almost five weeks without playing.
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