Current:Home > ScamsBears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze -TradeWise
Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
View
Date:2025-04-13 09:12:40
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! (52)
Related
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- China's ruling Communist Party expels former chief of sports body
- 'The Voice' Season 26 finale: Coach Michael Bublé scores victory with Sofronio Vasquez
- The Voice Season 26 Crowns a New Winner
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- I loved to hate pop music, until Chappell Roan dragged me back
- Morgan Wallen sentenced after pleading guilty in Nashville chair
- Taylor Swift makes history as most decorated artist at Billboard Music Awards
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- ParkMobile $32.8 million settlement: How to join class
Ranking
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- I loved to hate pop music, until Chappell Roan dragged me back
- North Dakota regulators consider underground carbon dioxide storage permits for Midwest pipeline
- A Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke, Cher
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- One Tech Tip: How to protect your communications through encryption
- Beyoncé's BeyGood charity donates $100K to Houston law center amid Jay
- New Jersey targets plastic packaging that fills landfills and pollutes
Recommendation
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single
Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed ahead of key US inflation data
Trump will be honored as Time’s Person of the Year and ring the New York Stock Exchange bell
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
This house from 'Home Alone' is for sale. No, not that one.
Drew Barrymore has been warned to 'back off' her guests after 'touchy' interviews