Breaking Down the Bears New Contracts.......

Chicago Bears Report

Breaking down the Bears' new contracts

March, 21, 2012 Mar 21

6:26
PM CT

By Michael C. Wright

With free agency nearly two weeks old, let’s do a quick rundown of some of the contracts of Chicago’s new acquisitions in addition to a few of the deals of players who recently re-signed with the club:
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http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/1101...mpbell_200.jpgCary Edmondson/US PresswireJason Campbell will back up Jay Cuter in 2012.

QB Jason Campbell ($2M signing bonus)
2012 base salary (workout bonus): $1.4M ($100,000)
Note: Can earn up to $1M in incentives based on playing time.

LB Blake Costanzo ($400,000 signing bonus)
2012 base salary (workout bonus): $700,000 ($25,000)
2013: $715,000 ($25,000)
Note: $50,000 Pro Bowl incentives in each year of deal, and another $100,000 incentive in 2013 based on playing time.

TE Kellen Davis ($2.7M signing bonus)
2012 base salary (workout bonus): $700,000 ($100,000)
2013: $2.4M ($100,000)

DE Israel Idonije ($1.5M signing bonus)
2012 base salary (workout bonus): $900,000 ($100,000)
Note: Can receive another $250,000 in incentives for reaching certain sack numbers.

WR Brandon Marshall
2012 base salary (workout bonus): $9.3M ($200,000)
2013: $9.1M ($200,000)
2014: $9.1M ($200,000)

QB Josh McCown ($25,000 signing bonus)
2012 base salary (workout bonus): $825,000 ($25,000)

WR/KR Eric Weems ($1.5M signing bonus)
2012 base salary (workout bonus): $700,000 ($25,000)
2013: $865,000 ($50,000)
2014: $1M ($100,000)

And today's Michael Bush;

http://www.spotrac.com/assets/images/thumb/chicago.png
Chicago Bears Michael Bush

Running Back
Players: Drafted:Round 4 (#100 overall), 2007
College: Louisville

Current Salary Information

Contract: 4 yr(s) / $14,000,000 Signing Bonus - Average Salary $3,500,000 End Year: 2015 Free Agent: 2016 / Unrestricted

Base Salary S. Bonus Misc. Bonus Cap Hit

2016 UFA

$7 million guaranteed

(Since there is apparently no upfront signing bonus the $7 mil is likely a guarantee of his 2012-13 salary at $3.5 mil each.)

Just a brief synopsis of the financial details of the Bears signings thus far. The majority of the money has been spent to upgrade the offense with smaller amounts for the defense and ST.

So where does this put us for leftover cap room? Good post! :thumb:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Bear

So where does this put us for leftover cap room? Good post! :thumb:

I don't know exactly where we stand PB. I keep looking for Spotrac to post those running totals but so far no luck.

What I can do is total up the 2012 cap hits for these deals and if my calculations are correct (or nearly correct) in total it comes up to just a tad under $24 mil. Since I estimated we had roughly $26 mil in cap room after we tagged Forte this would mean we're about out of gas but I don't think that's true. I haven't added in the $1.6 mil each team got from the penalties assessed to Dallas and Washington and the money we save on Barber which is $2.5 mil.

A rough guess of our current position would be around $6 mil under not including any LTBE bonus $$$ charged against the 2011 cap that would have been credited back in 2012. Unfortunately there's no real way to know what that amount is and I doubt the Bears will let anyone know since it may affect they're bargaining position. My guess is that it could easily come to another $2 mil or so and if we could get Forte signed and off that tag we might gain another $2 mil or so.

Of course some of that $$$ needs to be reserved for rookies but those charges won't hit the cap until they sign their contracts which won't usually happen until June or July. So there's time to gain more ground by cutting guys or restructuring contracts if it's needed but my guess is we're about finished as far as FA is concerned unless they find a screaming bargain at CB, LB or OT and I don't see anything on the horizon. The vet DB's are averaging $4-$5 mil per year and there isn't anything out there in the way to OT's. There are still some LB's unsigned but it looks like Lovie is more interested in drafting them that signing FA's.