Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has a chance to reset the market at the position and become the highest-paid player in NFL history via a contract extension for which he will be eligible at this season’s end, but the third-year signal-caller is surprisingly nonchalant and unconcerned with the potentially unprecedented riches within his grasp.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, will need to take another leap forward in Year 3 (second season under head coach Ben Johnson) if he intends to command more than $64 million annually, the current salary benchmark set by Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes this offseason.
But Williams isn’t stressing that. In fact, he claimed in an interview with Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times that ran on Wednesday, September 2 that he’s not even thinking about the money as the Bears attempt to repeat as NFC North Division champions in 2026.
“Money’s not a motivating factor for me in that sense,” Williams told Lieser. “If I wanted to be done today, I’d be fine. If I wanted to be done and go somewhere and disappear for a long time and never come back and y’all would never see me again, I’d be OK. That’s not my motivation.”
“Winning handles everything,” Williams continued. “So that’s where my mind’s at.”
Bears’ Track Record of Close Victories, Winning Turnover Battles in 2025 Both Point to Regression
Chicago went 11-6 last season, but six of those victories came by way of fourth-quarter comebacks either led by Williams, engineered by him, or both. The same thing happened in the Bears’ 18-point second-half comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Bears’ track record of winning one-score games in which they trailed late is liable to get worse in 2026 rather than better. The defense also led the league in total turnovers and turnover differential last season, which is typically a statistic that regresses year over year.
Chicago spent some money and draft capital to improve the defense this offseason, but injuries have taken their toll.
Safety Coby Bryant and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon would be starters if they were healthy, but both are out indefinitely with health issues. CB1 Jaylon Johnson is battling an upper-body injury just days before Week 1, while safety Dillon Thieneman is a first-round rookie who has never played an NFL snap.
Bears Will Go as Far as Caleb Williams Takes Them in 2026
All of that context is to say two things. First, it is going to be difficult for the Bears to replicate what they did in 2025, which means 11 victories and a division title are anything but a foregone conclusion. And even if Chicago can get there, the team will probably have to do so in different ways than last season.
Secondly, a mountain of pressure and expectation is going to fall on Williams’ shoulders as the leader of a complex offense in 2026. Because if the Bears have any chance of contending, it will be the offense that leads them there, and Williams’ is the de facto on-field leader of that unit.
Williams finished last season with 3,942 passing yards, 27 TDs and seven INTs along with 388 rushing yards and three scores. However, while he limited turnovers and sacks (just 24 compared to 68 sacks during his rookie campaign), Williams completed just 58.1 percent of his pass attempts.
Johnson doesn’t need Williams to lead the league in completion percentage, as the entire offense is built more around the value theory of explosive plays.
That said, the coaching staff has made it a point this offseason that the pass game must be at least incrementally more efficient, if for no other reason than to make sure Williams is hitting his explosive targets in stride and allowing them to make the big plays the offense will rely on.
If Williams is able to do that and Chicago finds major success on offense again, the money will take care of itself, and he could end up with the richest annual contract in league history come next spring.
Bears QB Caleb Williams Turns Heads With Hot Take on New Contract