Grading DJ Moore’s MASSIVE contract extension with the Bears

Chicago Bears fans received a most welcome surprise on Tuesday evening when ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced on X (formerly Twitter) that DJ Moore had signed a 4-year, $110 million contract extension. This deal ties Moore to the Bears through 2029 and syncs up perfectly with the rookie deals of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze.

DJ Moore and the Bears reached agreement on a four-year, $110 million extesnsion that includes $82.6M guaranteed. The deal was negotiated by Drew Rosenhaus, Jason Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey.

Moore now has had the first 10 years of his career years guaranteed, a first in NFL… pic.twitter.com/pODUlrWGUR

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 30, 2024

At $27.5 million AAV, this contract makes DJ Moore the 7th highest-paid receiver in the NFL, a big jump from where he was before the deal at 17th highest and much more in line with his ability. The most impressive part of this deal, however, was the guaranteed money, just over $82 million. This means that DJ Moore is the first player in NFL history to have guaranteed money in each of his first ten years in the NFL.

This was a move that I’d been wanting GM Ryan Poles to make ever since Justin Jefferson signed the largest non-quarterback contract in NFL history back in early June. With Jefferson’s well-deserved contract arriving on the heels of two other receivers who signed deals with more than $30 million AAV, it was obvious that the receiver market was exploding. And with several other receivers still in line for big paydays, it would only get worse the longer Poles waited.

On top of the increased cost, waiting until next year to extend Moore could have led to a hold-in or holdout, which is exactly the kind of distraction the Bears don’t need. If all goes well for Chicago in 2024, the next offseason should be spent focusing on the fine tuning needed to be a Super Bowl contender, not wondering if your best receiver will report for training camp.

With this deal, DJ Moore gets the respect he deserves as an elite receiver, and Chicago gets a bit of a discounted price along with a happy player. This is another easy A+ grade.