The Chicago Bears have someone extraordinary in quarterback Caleb Williams, yet general manager Ryan Poles still expects more from him.
“I want to be clear: Anyone that’s watched the league long enough knows that for quarterback play, it’s consistency,” Poles said. “Can you stack years on top of each other? We still have steps to go. I don’t want to make it like he’s already [there]. He knows he’s got work to do. But if all that falls into place, we have to understand how that changes our formula as we move forward. That’s a great thing to be on that path. I feel like we have a long-term quarterback solution. It makes me excited.”
Part of having a franchise quarterback requires investing a significant amount of money and cap space for him, and it’s something that Poles touched upon with Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Something that the Bears aren’t familiar with.
Ryan Poles Announces Caleb Williams Contract News Update
GettyCaleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears warms up prior to the game against the Detroit Lions.
Poles said that the team is researching what a potential contract extension for Caleb Williams might look like, and added that they have Matt Feinstein, the team’s salary-cap guru and vice president of football administration, presenting him with potential contract extension ideas “months before the Bears are allowed to negotiate with Williams.”
“We’re making progress,” Poles said. “That is exciting to even be thinking about planning for that. It’s exciting. But then there’s a challenge after that, too…It’s really a summer project. Matt Feinstein is digging into it now. We’ve had some preliminary conversations because we want to take some of these things into consideration as we build the team.”
Finley added more context on No. 1 pick QBs signing massive contract extensions.
“NFL rules dictate that Bears can sign Williams to a contract extension as soon as next offseason. That’s exactly what the Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence — quarterbacks who were the first overall picks in 2020 and 2021 — did. After only three seasons, Burrow signed a five-year, $275 million deal with $219 million guaranteed. Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million deal after only three seasons, too, and got $200 million guaranteed.”
Fast forward to 2026, and Burrow accounts for 15.14% of the cap, while Lawrence accounts for 7.75% of the cap — still a massive percentage of the team’s cap more than five years later.
What A Potential Contract Extension Could Look Like for Williams
I’m no Matt Feinstein, but Caleb Williams is expected to become one of, if not the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
Here are the current highest-paid QBs in the NFL, per OvertheCap.com:
- Dak Prescott — $240 million total value, $60M avg./year, $231 total guaranteed
- Joe Burrow — $275M, $55M APY, $219M TG
- Josh Allen — $330M, $55M APY, $250M TG
- Jordan Love — $220M, $55M APY, $160M TG
- Trevor Lawrence — $275M, $55M APY, $200M TG
Also accounting for the fact that several other notable quarterbacks will be eligible for contract extensions next offseason — Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix — the longer the Bears stall on handing Williams an extension, the more expensive it’ll be.
Williams could receive a contract extension that could exceed $60 million per year. Something like a five-year, $325 million deal ($65M per year) with $300 million in guaranteed money.
If that were the case, it would account for roughly a fourth of the Bears’ salary cap.
A massive price to pay, but one that’s necessary for the Bears.
Bears GM Announces Caleb Williams News Update