Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles said Caleb Williams didn’t ask for anything ‘shocking’ in contract

LAKE FOREST – Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles described contract negotiations with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams as “positive” Friday. The No. 1 overall draft pick signed his four-year, $39 million contract earlier this week. The deal became official just days before the start of training camp.

Rumors swirled online this week that Williams had asked for assurances that he wouldn’t be franchise tagged in the future when his rookie contract runs out. Speaking as veteran players reported to camp Friday at Halas Hall, Poles said Williams and his camp didn’t ask for anything that surprised him.

Poles declined to elaborate on what was asked for.

“It’s very common for different things to be asked for at the very beginning of negotiations,” Poles said. “It wasn’t very shocking in terms of what was being asked for.”

It’s very common for different things to be asked for at the very beginning of negotiations. It wasn’t very shocking in terms of what was being asked for.”

—  Ryan Poles, Bears general manager

Williams’ negotiations were different than most NFL players because he doesn’t have an agent certified by the NFL Players Association. Throughout his first few months with the Bears, Williams has said he has lawyers and a team of people working on his contract.

The contract he eventually signed is for four years, but the Bears also have a fifth-year option. It will keep Williams under contract through the 2027 season, and possibly the 2028 season if the Bears exercise the fifth year. NFL teams also have the option to use the franchise tag on a player up to three times.

Williams would not elaborate on the nature of his contract negotiations either.

“[I’m] not getting into that and all the details of that,” Williams said Friday. “The ink is dried already, and we’re past that point. I know I appreciate everybody that was going through it all with myself.”

Poles has dealt with players who didn’t have a certified agent before. He said his past experiences helped him realize that negotiations that don’t include a certified agent just take longer.

Poles, as a rookie GM in 2022, spent weeks working on a new deal with former Bears linebacker Roquan Smith, who was representing himself. Negotiations broke down, and Smith asked for a trade that August. Smith eventually returned to the field, and the Bears wound up trading him to the Baltimore Ravens at the trade deadline later that season. Smith eventually signed a five-year, $100 million contract with Baltimore.

“I think the takeaway that I learned when I first got here with the first situation [with Smith] was it just takes a little bit of time and patience,” Poles said. “But for this situation it was positive, and it was just continue to educate, continue to communicate at a high level.”

Those negotiations were drawn out, and so were negotiations with Williams. Entering this week, Williams and receiver Rome Odunze were among only five of the 32 first-round draft picks who hadn’t signed a contract. The Bears drafted both Williams and Odunze on April 25.

But deadlines are often helpful. These deals needed to get done this week or the team risked having their two star rookies miss the first practice Saturday.