Current:Home > MarketsBears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze -FinanceAcademy
Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
View
Date:2025-04-15 11:11:00
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! (27344)
Related
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Who is Katie Britt, the senator who delivered the Republican State of the Union response?
- Spanish utility Iberdrola offers to buy remaining shares to take 100% ownership of Avangrid
- Spanish utility Iberdrola offers to buy remaining shares to take 100% ownership of Avangrid
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin Engaged: Inside Their Blissful Universe
- 4 Missouri prison workers fired after investigation into the death of an inmate
- Want to invest in Taylor Swift and Beyoncé? Now you can.
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Q&A: The Latest in the Battle Over Plastic Bag Bans
Ranking
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Tiger Woods won't play in the 2024 Players Championship
- Save up to 71% off the BaubleBar x Disney Collection, Plus 25% off the Entire Site
- School shootings prompt more states to fund digital maps for first responders
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- New York City Ready to Expand Greenways Along Rivers, Railways and Parks
- Spending bill would ease access to guns for some veterans declared mentally incapable
- Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin Privately Got Engaged Years Ago
Recommendation
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Female representation remains low in US statehouses, particularly Democrats in the South
OpenAI has ‘full confidence’ in CEO Sam Altman after investigation, reinstates him to board
Duchess of Sussex, others on SXSW panel discuss issues affecting women and mothers
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Program that brought Ukrainians to North Dakota oil fields ends
New York City Ready to Expand Greenways Along Rivers, Railways and Parks
Wolfgang Van Halen slams ex-bandmate David Lee Roth's nepotism comments