The season of contract extensions continues, this time with the Green Bay Packers getting on the board. NFL insider Ian Rapoport announced on Monday afternoon that the Packers had agreed to terms with right tackle Zach Tom on a four-year, $88 million extension with a historic $30.2 million signing bonus.
This is a contract that is well-deserved, as Tom has far outplayed expectations of a 4th-round draft selection. Selected 140th overall in the 2022 NFL draft, Tom quickly earned a starting role and has started and finished all 17 games in each of the past two seasons, showing his value as something of an iron man, as well.
Tom's extension just happens to be an important one for Green Bay's archrival, the Chicago Bears. Darnell Wright, who also plays right tackle, has likewise been a stalwart anchor on Chicago's offensive line, often the only bright spot on the entire unit up until now. His arrow is pointing almost straight up in 2025 and beyond, and he even earned a Top 10 spot in renowned offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn's latest ranking of right tackles.
Wright becomes eligible for a contract extension after this season, and barring a catastrophic injury or inexplicable decline in production, he's going to get one and it's likely going to be similar to Tom's deal. Wright has been very good, but not quite on the level of a Tristan Wirf or Penei Sewell, so he's unlikely to reset the market for his position.
A four-year deal that averages out to roughly $22 million per year, however, is right in line with Wright's services. And since the NFL is a 'next man up' league when it comes to getting paid, you can bet his agent will be asking for just a bit more than what Tom got from Green Bay.
That's going to create something of a good problem for the Bears, specifically for GM Ryan Poles. After three years of nearing the top of the league in salary cap space, the Bears now find themselves strapped for cash. Extending Wright will be challenging, especially since both Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze will be extension-eligible in 2027. If all goes according to plan, those two will earn the most expensive contracts in franchise history, and Poles will have to account for that.
But as I said, that's a good problem to have, and one that every Bears fan should be rooting for.
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