When the Bears appear on’most compensated stars’ lists, you know things are going well in Chicago.
It wasn’t long ago that there wasn’t a single Bears player who would turn up for something like that. They had lost 14 games in a row behind players such as Trevor Simian (no offence Trevor), and things were looking dismal.
But, as it turns out, having the first overall pick in the NFL Draft two years in a row does wonders for your team’s talent level, and the Bears have done an admirable job of moving quickly to replace the Ryan Pace era team and build a new roster, which will be capped off by – presumably – Caleb Williams next week.
And because win-now moves are often met with criticism from the strange part of Twitter that is concerned with wealthy owners “overpaying” their players, the Bears were bound to make a couple of them this season. The most recent is from Bleacher Report, which looked at all 32 clubs and selected the most overpriced player on each. Chicago’s will probably not surprise you.
The new Bears star has been dubbed Chicago’s most ‘overpriced’ athlete. However, I do not believe anyone on the team is overpaid. Their five high-paid players (Montez Sweat, D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Jaylon Johnson, and Tremaine Edmunds) have all earned their green. However, Allen has lacked consistency and durability at times, and he may be past his peak heading into a $23.1 million age-32 season.
It’s typically a solid point, but it’s amusing to see BR begin a Most Overpaid explanation by stating that, in fact, the answer on the Bears is “no one.” Content! Looking at Allen, it makes sense: he’s 32 and has missed a significant number of games over the last two years.
But he also had over 1300 yards and 100 catches in 13 games last year, which is wild to think about. He finished last season as Pro Football Focus’ 11th best wide receiver, one position behind DJ Moore. I would argue that $23 million for the 11th greatest wide receiver in the NFL is not an overpayment at all. Especially since there is currently only one season! Allen is expected to be an unrestricted free agent in 2025, so if his performance suffers this season, the Bears have a relatively easy out.
Edmunds is almost probably one of the “five big-money guys.” His cap hit remains above 6% for the following three seasons, and he completed 2023 as PFF’s 70th-ranked linebacker (out of 82). But, after the last several seasons, it’s wonderful to debate which Bears players aren’t quite good enough to make the squad, isn’t it?
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