Negotiating the Field: Caleb Williams & Rome Odunze’s Contract Talks with the Bears

As the Chicago Bears get set to don their helmets for the upcoming NFL season, the buzz is all about Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, the team's prized first-round draft picks. With the training camp countdown in the single digits, the Bears' faithful are on the edge of their seats, waiting for these rookies to sign on the dotted line and join the team's march toward a new era.

The NFL draft has come a long way, and the era of rookies playing hardball for top dollar is fading into history. Thanks to the league's collective bargaining agreement, a rookie wage scale is now in play, assigning a pre-determined contract value to each draft pick based on their selection order. This has made rookie contract talks a breeze, with little wiggle room for lengthy negotiations.

For over a month now, the contract figures for the top 10 draftees, including our own Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, have been out in the open, courtesy of sites like Spotrac and Over The Cap. It's no secret that the Bears' dynamic duo is expected to sign for a hefty sum—around $39.5 million for Williams and just shy of $23 million for Odunze.

But to really get the full picture of this contract saga, we need to dive into the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, the rookie wage scale, and what it all means for the negotiations between Williams, Odunze, and the Bears. According to the NFL's CBA, rookie contracts are set in stone. First-rounders get a four-year deal with an option for a fifth, and their base salary is fully guaranteed. These contracts can't be tweaked until after the player's third regular season.

Here's the breakdown: First-round draft picks: Four years, with a club option for a fifth year. The rookie wage scale acts like a cap within the cap, with rookie salaries tied to the overall salary cap's growth. For instance, signing bonuses have seen a 3.79% uptick, the largest since 2019. The league sets a cap on total rookie compensation, with specific salary limits for each draft slot. Teams have a max and min they can spend on their picks, based on where they were drafted. Projected 2024 Wage Scale: No. 1: $38.54 million (Spotrac) | $39.49 million (Over The Cap) No. 9: $22.23 million (Spotrac) | $22.72 million (Over The Cap) The components of a rookie deal are limited to signing bonuses, base salaries, roster bonuses, and a few other bonuses and incentives.

The days of salary escalators and incentives inflating top draft pick salaries are over, thanks to the rookie wage scale. A key figure in these deals is the first-year salary cap number, which helps set the contract's total value. For 2024, the rookie minimum base salary is $795,000. The annual increase in a deal can't exceed 25% of the first-year cap number. Take Dalton Kincaid, the 26th pick in 2023, whose cap numbers couldn't rise more than $610,320 annually because his first-year cap number was $2,441,280. Teams have a fifth-year option for first-rounders, which they can exercise after the player's third season.

The 2020 CBA changed how these options work, making the fifth-year salary fully guaranteed upon exercise. The fifth-year salaries now depend on performance, not draft position. With the rookie wage scale's pre-set terms, there's not much left to haggle over in rookie contracts. The main points of contention are usually the signing bonus payment schedule and whether salary guarantees have offsets. Note: This article continues in the reply section below… Squad Up! BearDown! ~Sammo