The Chicago Bears wasted no time signing veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to a three-year, $43.5M contract. The move has been met with mixed reactions — some praise it as a smart addition, while others question the risk of signing a soon-to-be 32-year-old defensive tackle.
The Bears have spent heavily this offseason, but this signing marks a rare shift in strategy for general manager Ryan Poles. According to KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson, Jarrett’s contract is structured in a creative way that minimizes the immediate cap hit.
Yeah, I like Grady Jarrett pic.twitter.com/VA8Vk4ecL0
— Dave (@dave_bfr) March 12, 2025
Grady Jarrett Contract Breakdown:
Length: Two years, $42.75M
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Guarantees: $28.5M guaranteed
Signing Bonus: $12M
Salaries:
- $2.25M (fully guaranteed) in 2025
- $14.25M (injury guaranteed; $13M guaranteed at signing; remainder guaranteed if on the roster by the 3rd day of the 2026 league year)
- $11.75M in 2026
Bonuses:
- $25,000 per game active roster bonus in 2025 and 2026
- $1M 5th day of 2027 league-year roster bonus
- $325,000 workout bonus in 2025 and 2026
Here’s a simple breakdown of Grady Jarrett’s projected cap hits:
2025: $7M
2026: $19M
2027: $16M
Interestingly, Spotrac lists two void years at the end of Garrett’s contract, which would set his cap hit at $5.4M in 2025. It’s unclear whether Over the Cap or Spotrac is entirely accurate, but either way, the contract is clearly backloaded.
Why This Matters
For the first time since becoming GM, Poles is backloading a major contract. This structure lowers Jarrett’s cap hit in 2025, signaling that the Bears are in win-now mode. Interestingly, Jarrett and fellow new defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo will have a combined cap hit of just $15M in 2025 — giving the Bears flexibility to possibly make another big move.
Poles has been calculated yet aggressive this offseason, and this contract leaves the door open for another potential trade or depth signing in free agency. The Bears are manipulating the cap masterfully — and it’s exciting to see them positioning themselves to compete right now.
I haven’t been a fan of Poles. Recently though, meaning the past 2 weeks, it seems like Poles and his teams have accomplished a few things. The building of the trenches has been lacking until March 2025. I’m not sure how well all of it will work but lately these are the right kinds of moves. Why did these kinds of moves only happen recently? I’m not 100% sure. Many will argue it’s the head coach and I’m sure it’s a factor. But we just saw a massive transformation. Poles was calling Matt Ryan and grabbing guys and now he’s… Read more »
@Dr. Melhus — Erik Lambert has infected your mind with his anti-Ryan Pace/Cap Space propaganda for years. Read the recent article in “The Althletic” entitled, “What every general manager can learn from Howie Roseman’s Eagles” … and you’ll realize, Ryan Poles may soon give it a try. It’s not the end of the world, if Poles does — no matter what Lambert says. Also, whether you (or I) agree with Roseman is simply, not the point. The article reveals how those “in the NFL business” deal with The Cap, Dead Cap and Void Years — in a very competitive environment.… Read more »
Well, IF these moves dont work, this is basically a mirror of what Ryan Pace did – pushing off the cap reckoning into the future. Again, it’s an issue, but ONLY IF it fails.
If we win in next couple years, no one will really care what happens in three years time.
But if we lose, the next GM will come in and say he needs to do a total teardown, clear all the bad cap, and people will argue that he isn’t responsible for having to clean up the mess he inherited. Rinse, repeat…
I worry about backloaded contracts – they are an attempt to get a little extra skill (via cap) on the team now at the expense of losing some skill (again, via cap) later. If the Bears don’t perform well this year, this will bite them in the hindquarters in a few years, just when Caleb should be coming off his rookie contract and reaching his peak years of play. Don’t want to trade a one and done playoff appearance now for a failure to win a Super Bowl in three years. The saving grace would be if a bunch of… Read more »