After receiving the franchise tag earlier this week, Jaylon Johnson and the Chicago Bears are in agreement on a new contract. The star cornerback has agreed to a four-year deal worth $76 million, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz first reported.
Johnson now becomes one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL and will avoid free agency, which begins next week. According to Schultz, $54.4 million will be guaranteed, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter added Johnson will receive $60 million over the first three years of the deal.
At a $19 million AAV, Johnson will now be the fourth-highest paid cornerback in the league, Schefter said. He only trails Jaire Alexander, Denzel Ward and Jalen Ramsey.
Johnson just completed his fourth season with the Bears and has emerged as a key piece of the defense. In 2023, he had a career-high four interceptions to go with 36 total tackles to earn his first-ever Pro Bowl appearance and a second team All-Pro selection. He has started every game in which he’s played since Chicago drafted him out of Utah.
During the season, Johnson reportedly requested a trade at the deadline before ultimately staying in Chicago. However, he made it clear he wanted to remain a Bear, and Ryan Poles echoed a similar sentiment multiple times.
At the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis, Poles again expressed his desire to keep Johnson in Chicago long-term. The franchise tag was valued at $19.8 million, but the new contract means he won’t have to worry about that.
“In the process of getting Jaylon Johnson done,” Poles said, via ChicagoBears.com’s Larry Mayer. “Conversations are going well at this time. We feel like we’ve done a really good job coming to the table strong and showing the respect that he’s due just in terms of his production through his career and really an emphasis on the turnovers he created this past year. Our expectation is that’s going to continue to go as he’s with the Bears.
“When I say, ‘come strong,’ that means cash flows are strong, guarantees are strong, the term is strong for him. Being with his age, there’s a really good opportunity to go back to the market again and continue to earn money and play well and hopefully that’s with the Bears for a long period of time, so I’m excited about that. Like I’ve said about those deals—all the time—it takes two to tango and you’ve got to find a place that everyone feels comfortable with, so I feel really good about that situation.”
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