Why haven't first-round picks Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze signed their rookie contracts with the Bears yet

With less than a month until rookies report back to Halas Hall for the start of training camp, two of the Chicago Bears' top picks still have some matters to handle before getting back on the field.

Both first overall pick Caleb Williams and ninth overall pick Rome Odunze have not signed their rookie contracts with the Bears, and are two of the five first-round selections still left unsigned. The two are also the only remaining players from the team's 2024 rookie class who have not yet signed their deals.

So what gives, and when will these contracts be made official?

It's ultimately a complicated matter and one that has become more complicated in recent years for rookies entering the league. One things for certain, these matters rarely go into training camp, with the exception of Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa in 2016.

With a rookie contract, there's not much for the players (or really their agents) to negotiate except for minor details that can hold things up during negotiations.

How First-Round Contracts Work

With the increase in the salary cap each season, the established contract structure based on draft position goes up as well. For every player selected as a first-round pick, the contract is a four-year deal with an included fifth-year option teams can exercise.

These contracts have a floor and a ceiling for salary and signing bonus (and those numbers are fairly close), so negotiations in this regard should be straightforward.

The fifth-year option is non-negotiable, and teams choose to exercise it or not at the end of the third season of the player's career — since the 2020 CBA, though, it is fully guaranteed as soon as it's exercised. Previously, it was only guaranteed for injury.

Then What's With The Hold Up?

If everything seems so straight-forward then why haven't Williams or Odunze signed their rookie deals yet? The first potential reason has to do with the signing bonus.

When the players sign their new deals, they receive a certain amount for signing the contract, but that money is not necessarily paid upon doing so. Therefore, the payment schedule of the bonus can be a sticking point in negotiations, since teams use the signing bonus to spread a significant amount of the salary cap hit across the four years of the player's contract. Signing bonuses also make up a huge part of the rookie deal, making the payment schedule extremely important for them.

A similar dispute over cash flow in that nature led Seattle Seahawks first-round cornerback Devon Witherspoon to hold out until the third day of training camp.

The second possible issue is the offset language pertaining to guaranteed salary. Contracts with no offset language give players the opportunity to double dip and collect two salaries in the event that deal is terminated. As such, teams look to include offsets and voids to protect themselves. These can be related to injury, suspension and conduct detrimental to the team.

What Will The Deals Potentially Look Like?

As the first overall pick, Williams is expected to get a sizable contract based on his position and the scaling nature of rookie contracts based on selection. Last year, Carolina Panthers first overall pick Bryce Young signed a 4-year, $37.96 million deal.

Spotrac projects that Williams' deal will come in at 4-years, $39.4 million. So, just above Young, which should be expected with the jump in the salary cap this season. Before the team left for the offseason break, Williams shared his thoughts on his team handling the contract negotiations.

“I’m not handling that," Williams said. "I’ve been focused on these past three days of minicamp, the OTAs before that and rookie camp before that. I haven’t been focused on that. [General manager Ryan] Poles and my team have been focused on that. I have lawyers and attorneys to handle things like that so I can be free-minded on the field, enjoying coming into work every day and working my tail off.”

As for Odunze, Spotrac projects the Bears rookie wide receiver to sign a 4-year, $22.7 million contract. Significantly less compared to the previous wide receiver drafted ahead of him, Malik Nabers who was drafted fifth overall by the New York Giants, who signed a 4 year, $29.2 million deal.

All three parties should hopefully look to get these negotiations handled before the rookies have to report back to training camp next month. Then, everyone can focus on what truly matters on the field.