Bears re-sign Jay Cutler

[Mothman]

It's a 7 year deal.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-foo ... r-contract

[dead_poet]

It's probably a smart move on their part. I thought they might franchise him but there was a very slim chance they were going to let him get away without a viable long-term backup plan in place (which is not Josh McCown).

[Mothman]

It's probably a smart move on their part. I thought they might franchise him but there was a very slim chance they were going to let him get away without a viable long-term backup plan in place (which is not Josh McCown).

Agreed. I think it's smart move on his part too. He's finally in a situation where he should have the same offensive coach and system in place for a few years and he's surrounded by some excellent offensive weapons.

[PotGoblin]

well if they want a long term backup... I say we give them Ponder

[Demi]

well if they want a long term backup... I say we give them Ponder

Their backup is better than all three QBs on our roster.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... hereafter/

The first leaked details of the Jay Cutler contract put the average value for the first three years at $18 million, with $54 million guaranteed.

The details were accurate. Per a source with knowledge of the deal, Cutler will make $54 million over the next three years, with a rolling guarantee that starts at $17.5 million upon signing, increases to $38 million on March 14, 2014, moves to $48 million in March 2015, and caps out at $54 million in March 2016.

The deal contains no signing bonus, creating a pay-as-you-go series of cap charges for the Bears, based only on his base salaries.

In 2014, Cutler will earn a base salary of $22.5 million. In 2015, the base salary is $15.5 million. In 2016, it increases to $16 million.

After 2016, the deal becomes a year-to-year, no-cap-hit proposition, with salaries of $12.5 million in 2017, $13.5 million in 2018, $17.5 million in 2019, and $19.2 million in 2020. In each of those four seasons, Cutler earns $156,250 for each game he appears on the active roster, for a maximum additional earnings of $2.5 million per year and $10 million over four.

Thus, he’ll get the full $126.7 million only if he’s on the active roster for every game from 2017 through 2020.

The contract also has an annual de-escalator of $500,000 based on participating in the offseason workout program. If he fails to show up, the base salary reduces accordingly.

It’s a real three-year, $54 million contract, with a team-held option at lower rates for each of the next four years.

Under three years of the franchise tag, Cutler would have earned more than $60 million. He therefore reduced by more than 10 percent his total haul in exchange for shedding the injury risk.

Cutler also has shifted most of the risk of poor performance, with the Bears most likely to pay him $48 million over two years.

Is it the best possible deal Cutler could have done? No. But it’s a very good deal under the circumstances, it keeps him in Chicago for the next three years at $18 million annually, and it gives the Bears the annual right thereafter to decide whether to keep him or to walk away.

[jackal]

Man his back up out plays him and he gets that deal. Wow

[PurpleMustReign]

What a joke. He is not worth that money. He is almost as overrated as Romo and Stafford. Of course, for some reason those QBs got extensions too, so Idk anymore. You used to have to earn your money. I guess it's ok to just choke seasons away nowadays.

[dead_poet]

What a joke. He is not worth that money. He is almost as overrated as Romo and Stafford. Of course, for some reason those QBs got extensions too, so Idk anymore. You used to have to earn your money. I guess it's ok to just choke seasons away nowadays.

As with most contracts, the numbers can be misleading. He got no signing bonus, only guaranteed base salaries of $22.5M in 2014, $15.5M in 2015 and $16M in 2016 for a total of $54 million guaranteed. It's still a lot, but "only" a three-year, $54 million commitment. If the Bears want to move on in 2017 when Cutler turns 34, they'll be able to do so with no strings attached.