The Bears announced that they signed QB Jay Cutler to a seven-year contract on Thursday.
- According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Cutler will receive $126 million over seven years with $54 million guaranteed.
- Albert Breer reports that Cutler will receive $38 million in first two years, and $54 million from 2014-2016.
Here’s how Cutler’s deal stacks up to the recent contracts signed by NFL quarterbacks:
- Matt Ryan (28):
- six years, $113.75M total, $59M guaranteed, $18,96M annually.
- Tony Romo (33):
- seven years, $119.5M total, $55M guaranteed, $17.07M annually.
- Aaron Rodgers (30):
- seven years, $130.75M total, $54M guaranteed, $18,67M annually.
- Jay Cutler (30):
- seven years, $126M total, $54M guaranteed, $18M annually.
- Joe Flacco (28):
- six-years, $120.6M total, $52M guaranteed, $20.1M annually.
- Matthew Stafford (25):
- five years, $76.5M total, $41.5M guaranteed, $15.3M annually.
The players are of course listed by the total guarantees in their respective contracts simply because this is the most important number to consider when sizing up player’s contracts.
Cutler’s deal is surprisingly very close to the deal signed by Aaron Rodgers last year, which made him the highest paid quarterback in the league at that time. The fact that Cutler was set to become an unrestricted free agent probably impacted the team’s decision to go this high on a long-term deal, but the team hasn’t wavered in their support for Cutler.
Chicago is a good shape with regards to their cap space, just as Green Bay was when they locked up Rodgers, so this shouldn’t have a big impact on their finances until a few years into the deal.
The next quarterbacks to watch with regards to long-term deals includes Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, and Colin Kaepernick.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
