Does anyone know the specifics yet other than it's a 4 year deal. I'm too lazy to look.

Hester agrees to four-year contract extension
By Larry Maye


BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – All-Pro return specialist Devin Hester on Sunday agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Bears through the 2013 season. Terms were not disclosed.

On Wednesday, Hester surprised the Bears by deciding to hold out of training camp because he was upset that he had not received a contract extension like many of his teammates. The 25-year-old had two years remaining on the four-year deal he had signed after being selected in the second round of the 2006 draft.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo told reporters that Hester’s absence was “unexpected” because negotiations with agent Eugene Parker were ongoing. Hester was placed on the reserve/did not report list and does not count against the 80-man roster limit.

“We thought Devin was going to be here,” Angelo said at the time. “We’ve been negotiating with Devin for a while and we are continually negotiating with him as well. So I really don’t know why he isn’t here.”

Hester told the Chicago Tribune that he intended to hold out until he received a new deal.

“I’m not coming,” he said via telephone. “I have to make a statement. I showed by going to [offseason workouts] that I was a team player. But then, I just felt like they weren’t taking it seriously that I wanted to get a new deal.”

Hester ended his holdout two days later, reporting to training camp Friday morning. He opted to show up because he felt that progress was being made between the Bears and his agent, Eugene Parker, toward a long-term deal.

“Progress is starting to move,” Hester said then. “It’s looking good, so I came back. I talked to Jerry [Angelo] and coach Lovie [Smith] and everything seemed like it’s starting to work out in the right order and we’re starting to hear what we like, so I showed up.”

Upon reporting to camp, Hester was optimistic that an agreement would soon be reached.

“Like Jerry said, they really don’t [negotiate] with players who aren’t here,” Hester said. “We’re in the process of getting it done and I’m hoping we get it done sometime this week.”

While Hester ended his holdout—one that had resulted in him being fined $15,000 per day—he did not practice and was placed on the non-football injury list with a sore hamstring. Asked if he would practice without receiving an extension, he said: “I have no comment on that.”

Hester was driven onto the practice field on a cart Friday late in the Bears’ two-hour workout. Wearing a knit cap and his No. 23 jersey, he acknowledged an ovation from the crowd by waving to the fans. One person in the stands help up a sign that read, “Pay Hester!” After practice, the former Miami star spent several minutes signing autographs.

“I’m here [because] I don’t want to fall too far behind,” Hester told reporters. “I want to be with my teammates. Every day I’m at home watching the news and reading the paper, it hurts me to be home and not here with them.”

Hester received numerous calls and text messages from teammates and coaches during his holdout. But it was primarily his own conscience that convinced him to report to training camp. He knew how important it was for him to participate in camp given that his role on offense is expected to expand significantly this season.

“Deep down inside I said, ‘This is my team’ and I felt bad not being here,” Hester said. “I don’t want to be too far behind. I’m one of the players that needs to be here, so that’s why I’m here.”

On Saturday night, Hester caught punts from a JUGS machine while his teammates stretched early in practice. After Kyle Orton’s deep pass landed a few feet beyond receiver Brandon Lloyd, a fan yelled “give Hester a helmet!”

Hester is the 10th veteran to be re-signed by the Bears since the beginning of the offseason. He follows Lance Briggs, Alex Brown, Desmond Clark, Rashied Davis, Robbie Gould, Tommie Harris, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton and Brian Urlacher.

Negotiations for a new contract were complicated by the fact that there’s never really been a player like Hester in terms of what he’s accomplished as a return specialist so early in his career.

Hester burst on the scene as a rookie, setting a NFL record with five kick return touchdowns. He eclipsed his own mark with six scores last year, leaving him just two short of the all-time league record that it took Brian Mitchell 14 seasons to set.

Hester has returned two other kicks for TDs that don’t count as part of his official total—a 108-yard return of a missed field goal against the New York Giants and a 92-yard kickoff return in Super Bowl XLI versus the Indianapolis Colts.

I saw something where they said they paid him like a starting reciever before he became one. I was thinking they might have released them by now.

4 years, $30mil, $15mil guaranteed.

Can be worth as much as $40 million is he is the #1 WR.

This post has been edited by AtomicTommy: Jul 28 2008, 11:42 AM