Many Chicago Bears fans were ready to riot when GM Ryan Pace executed the trade for veteran quarterback Nick Foles. Not only did he said a 4th round pick to Jacksonville in a deal, he also took on an $88 million contract with three years left on it. For a team that didn't have a lot of cap space to start this offseason, the prospect of carrying what appeared to be over $21 million in addition weight seemed suicidal.
However, it appears those people jumped the gun. Pace and his money specialist Joey Laine have proven time and again to be pretty good at managing cap issues. They knew they had to find a way to make that contract more palatable and thankfully they had a bit of leverage. That being Foles wanting to play for head coach Matt Nagy.
This enabled the two sides to work out a favorable deal according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
"Thirteen months ago, Foles signed the NFL’s largest contract during 2019 free agency: $88 million over four years. He pocketed $31 million from the Jaguars last year, leaving $57 million in base value remaining. That figure has been slashed to $24 million.
What’s unchanged is the fully guaranteed amount remaining that Foles would receive in the event he’s cut: $21 million, which the Bears have spread over three years.
...The restructured contract lowers Foles’ 2020 base salary from $15.125 million to $4 million, giving him a considerably smaller salary-cap hit of $5.33 million. Here is how the money breaks down in his new deal (all money is fully guaranteed with the exception of the 2022 base salary, which is guaranteed for $1 million):"
Nick Foles bet on himself and the Bears are fine with that
People were really confused as to why the Bears made it where Foles has the option of opting out of his contract each of the next two years after 2020. Now we know why. He accepted a sizable discount to play in Chicago, doing so because he wants to play for Nagy. In return, he was granted a chance to prove what happened in Jacksonville wasn't about him. He bet on himself to rebound this year. If he plays really well, he could opt out of the deal and have a chance to earn another sizable contract.
The Bears granted him that. One because it motivates him to play well this season, and two because it leaves the door open for them to secure that long-term option at quarterback Pace is still trying to find. Trubisky will be gone in 2021. Chicago would then have one of two options. Work to bring back Foles or seek a potential franchise guy in the draft when they're finally back in the 1st round.
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