Current:Home > NewsBears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze -FinanceMind
Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
View
Date:2025-04-17 15:37:55
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! (543)
Related
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Why Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman hope 'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a 'fastball of joy'
- Steph Curry talks Kamala Harris' US presidential campaign: 'It's a big deal'
- Brittany Aldean Slams Maren Morris’ “Pro-Woman Bulls--t” Stance Amid Feud
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Southwest breaks with tradition and will assign seats; profit falls at Southwest and American
- Yuval Sharon’s contract as Detroit Opera artistic director extended 3 years through 2027-28 season
- Get an Extra 40% Off Madewell Sale Styles, 75% Off Lands' End, $1.95 Bath & Body Works Deals & More
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Why Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman hope 'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a 'fastball of joy'
Ranking
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Dylan Cease throws second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, 3-0 win over Washington Nationals
- Former Kentucky lawmaker and cabinet secretary acquitted of 2022 rape charge
- Get an Extra 40% Off Madewell Sale Styles, 75% Off Lands' End, $1.95 Bath & Body Works Deals & More
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Youngest 2024 Olympians Hezly Rivera and Quincy Wilson strike a pose ahead of Olympics
- 'A beautiful soul': Arizona college student falls to death from Yosemite's Half Dome cables
- Rachael Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Iconic Reunion Really Is All That
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
North Korean charged in ransomware attacks on American hospitals
Cucumber recall for listeria risk grows to other veggies in more states and stores
Ralph Lauren unites U.S. Olympic team with custom outfits
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Smuggled drugs killed 2 inmates at troubled South Carolina jail, sheriff says
Taylor Swift's best friend since childhood Abigail is 'having his baby'
A woman is killed and a man is injured when their upstate New York house explodes