Bobby Massie Intentionally Gave Bears a Discount to Stay in Chicago

Bobby Massie has turned into one of the best free agent finds of the Ryan Pace era. A lot of people criticized the GM for handing the big offensive tackle a three-year deal at $6 million a year. Most felt nothing about his play in Arizona prior to that warranted such a price tag. Pace felt differently. He felt there was enough talent in Massie's game along with his tireless work ethic that would turn him into a better player with time. He was proven correct. Massie showed improvement every year of that contract, culminating in a career-best season in 2018 where he allowed just two sacks. Given how thirsty the NFL is for offensive line help these days, it's likely he would've commanded a healthy pay raise on the free agent market this past month. Massie didn't bother waiting to even find out. He and the Bears swiftly reached an agreement on a five-year contract extension worth $8 million per season. While that's a nice raise, time proved the predictions correct. Ja'Wuan James, another free agent right tackle, got a four-year deal worth $51 million from the Denver Broncos. James allowed seven sacks his final season in Miami. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Trubisky-Drops-Multiple-Dimes-Finds-Robinson-on-Huge-TD-Drive-1.mp4"][/video]

Bobby Massie has zero regrets about his decision to stay in Chicago

Some might think that Massie was given bad advice. It's almost certain he would've commanded similar money on the open market had he waited. Instead he chose to work a deal out quickly and ended up with almost $5 million less per year than James did. Does he regret the decision? Not in the slightest. If anything, Massie's answer to that question from Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune makes it clear he knew he was giving the Bears a break.

“I don’t care,” Massie said in his first comments about the new contract. “At the end of the day, I was happy with what I got and I was where I wanted to be. Wait for a few more pennies? I am where I wanted to be. “I want to be in Chicago because I know something special is coming. We’ve got a great team, amazing people in the building. I just love it there. I didn’t want to leave on that note.”

It's always refreshing to see a player have this perspective. Rather than pursue as much money as possible, they take a more modest deal in order to help the team they love to win more games. Such an unselfish attitude from an underappreciated player. An example of the sort of character the Bears have intentionally sought out since Pace took over four years ago.