Caleb Williamss' quest to become the hero the Chicago Bears need at quarterback began in earnest this week. The roster gathered at Halas Hall for an early start to training camp with their Aug. 1 Hall of Fame preseason kickoff game looming. However, much of the talk in the lead-up to camp has been about what Williams is getting up to off the field rather than what he will do on it.
Specifically, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has been reporting some... interesting aspects of Williams' rookie contract negotiations with Chicago. Florio reported the USC product had some creative requests for the Bears to earn as much money as possible. Williams apparently asked to be paid through an LLC, rather than directly from the team, as well as if he could receive his salary via a forgivable loan. The NFL shut down both avenues when the Bears asked about it.
Williams did end up signing his deal anyway, and on Friday, general manager Ryan Poles addressed the reports in a way. He did not acknowledge any of the fine details but noted that it is far from unusual to receive, well, unusual requests during contract negotiations. Via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago:
Ryan Poles wouldn't confirm the reports of what Caleb Williams asked for during negotiations.
— Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) July 19, 2024
"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."
More broadly speaking, Poles said the negotiation was a "positive" process in regards to communication. So there are no signs that Williams trying to get funky with his rookie deal rubbed his employers the wrong way.
Ultimately Williams will have more than enough on his plate as a rookie quarterback for a team and fanbase absolutely starving for a star at the position. Everyone is probably happy the deal is done and he can get to work— even if he didn't get everything he reportedly asked for.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bears GM Addresses Reports of Caleb Williams's Strange Contract Requests .
