Current:Home > MyBears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze -Visionary Growth Labs
Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
View
Date:2025-04-17 01:29:34
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! (1649)
Related
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Today’s Climate: May 27, 2010
- China's defense minister defends intercepting U.S. destroyer in Taiwan Strait
- Kevin Hart Shares Update on Jamie Foxx After Medical Complication
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Missing resident from Davenport, Iowa, building collapse found dead, officials confirm
- N. Richard Werthamer
- The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from a centenarian neighbor
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Poll: One year after SB 8, Texans express strong support for abortion rights
Ranking
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Nearly 8 million kids lost a parent or primary caregiver to the pandemic
- The Barbie movie used so much pink paint it caused a shortage
- Andrew Callegari
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Highlighting the Allure of Synfuels, Exxon Played Down the Climate Risks
- How Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Celebrated Their 27th Anniversary
- Woman facing charges for allegedly leaving kids in car that caught fire while she was shoplifting
Recommendation
Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu says he won't run for president in 2024
Trendsetting Manhattan Leads in Methane Leaks, Too
There's a bit of good news about monkeypox. Is it because of the vaccine?
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
States Begin to Comply with Clean Power Plan, Even While Planning to Sue
From a March to a Movement: Climate Events Stretch From Sea to Rising Sea
Through community-based care, doula SeQuoia Kemp advocates for radical change