Current:Home > InvestBears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze -NextFrontier Finance
Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
View
Date:2025-04-15 04:16:13
Tuesday was the first day of training camp for the Chicago Bears' rookies – two of them becoming very rich men just in the nick of time.
Quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze became among the league's final first-round draft picks of 2024 to reach terms on their initial NFL contracts. This year's No. 1 overall pick out of USC, Williams, per reports, agreed a four-year pact worth a fully guaranteed $39.5 million ($25.5 million of it earmarked as a signing bonus) by slotting at the the top of the board. Widely projected as a generational prospect, he joins a roster much stronger than most top selections enjoy and could immediately restore Chicago to contending status.
Odunze, a University of Washington product chosen ninth overall, is expected to be one of Williams' top targets well into the future – though he may have to take a backseat to the likes of veteran wideouts DJ Moore and Keenan Allen and established tight end Cole Kmet in 2024. Odunze is guaranteed $22.7 million over the next four seasons.
As first-rounders, Williams and Odunze could be retained on balloon payment fifth-year options in 2028 assuming they've fulfilled expectations to that point but haven't yet signed extensions (both will be eligible for one in 2027).
NFL OFFSEASON GRADES: Bears break curve with only A+
All things Bears: Latest Chicago Bears news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
Coming off a 7-10 season, Chicago is looking for its first playoff campaign since 2020 and first postseason win since the 2010 season but will have to successfully navigate a highly competitive NFC North to meet those objectives.
Bears veterans are set to report to camp Friday. Chicago is among the league's first teams to show up for work this summer since it will kick off the preseason Aug. 1 against the Houston Texans in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
***Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.
veryGood! (8522)
Related
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Kingsford charcoal company began with Henry Ford in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
- 2 killed, 3 hurt when pleasure boat catches fire in bay south of Los Angeles
- Minnesota 14-year-old arrested in shooting death of 12-year-old
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Bella Hadid Shares Health Update Amid Painful Battle With Lyme Disease
- Photos give rare glimpse of history: They fled the Nazis and found safety in Shanghai
- Survival teacher Woniya Thibeault was asked about a nail salon. Instead, she won 'Alone.'
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Dozens saved by Italy from migrant shipwrecks; some, clinging to rocks, plucked to safety by copters
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- What happens when a person not mentally competent is unfit for trial? Case spotlights issue
- USWNT ousted from World Cup: Team USA reels from historic loss to Sweden
- Usher Weighs In On Debate Over Keke Palmer's Concert Appearance After Her Boyfriend's Critical Comments
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Trucking giant Yellow Corp. declares bankruptcy after years of financial struggles
- Queen Latifah, Chuck D and more rap legends on ‘Rapper’s Delight’ and their early hip-hop influences
- Southwest employee accused white mom of trafficking her Black daughter, lawsuit says
Recommendation
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
At least 3 killed in shooting on D.C. street
Suspect killed, officer hospitalized in Kansas shooting
Trucking giant Yellow Corp. declares bankruptcy after years of financial struggles
Sam Taylor
Moving to a college dorm? Here's how you can choose a reliable mover and avoid scams
Rapper Tory Lanez set to be sentenced for shooting and injuring Megan Thee Stallion
Former FBI agent to plead guilty in oligarch-related case