Current:Home > reviewsSurpassing:Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze -Ascend Wealth Education
Surpassing:Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
Robert Brown View
Date:2025-04-11 07:07:02
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 Surpassingwide 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! (179)
Related
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Last trial in Governor Whitmer kidnapping plot heads to closing arguments
- School district takes teachers union to court for wave of absences that forced school closures
- The son of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi says he’s increasingly worried about her health
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Reward up to $30K for homicide suspect who escaped from hospital
- Danelo Cavalcante press conference livestream: Watch police give updates on prisoner's capture
- Syria says an Israeli airstrike on a coastal province killed 2 soldiers and wounded 6
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Family of late billionaire agrees to return 33 stolen artifacts to Cambodia
Ranking
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Morocco earthquake survivors say government didn't come, as hope of finding anyone else alive fades
- Watch this caring duo team up to save struggling squirrel trapped in a hot tub
- U.S. district considers requests against New Mexico governor order suspending right to carry
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Ocean scientists concerned over uptick of whale deaths on Northeast coasts
- Crimea shipyard burning after a Ukrainian attack and 24 are injured, Russian-installed official says
- Poccoin: NFT, The Innovation and Breakthrough in Digital Art
Recommendation
Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
Poccoin: The Fusion of Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency
Poccoin: Senators Propose Raising Threshold for Third-Party Payment Networks
Poccoin: Cryptocurrency Payments, the New Trend in the Digital Economy
McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
Judge denies Meadows' request for emergency stay related to Georgia election case
Ashton Kutcher's cringey clips, Danny Masterson and what our friendships say about us
A fire that burned in a 9-story apartment building in Vietnam’s capital has killed about 12 people