AUGUST 10: Wright received a $19.07MM signing bonus, as detailed by Over the Cap. His base salaries for next two seasons are fully guaranteed at signing, while an $18MM roster bonus is due on the 10th day of the 2027 league year. The 2028 and 2029 salaries in the pact ($22.5MM in both seasons) will vest one year early. Wright can also collect $500K in annual workout bonuses from 2027-31.
AUGUST 4: The Bears and All-Pro right tackle Darnell Wright have agreed to a four-year, $116MM contract extension, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.
Wright’s $29MM AAV makes him the highest-paid right tackle in the NFL. Among offensive linemen, he trails only Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who signed an extension worth $30.1MM per year earlier this offseason. Wright’s deal also includes $93MM in guaranteed money, setting a new record at the offensive tackle position over Rashawn Slater, who received $92MM in guarantees last year.
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From the Bears’ perspective, they are adding Wright’s new money onto his existing contract, which was set to pay him $20.22MM over the next two years, per OverTheCap. Incorporating today’s extension keeps him under contract through the 2031 season for an average of $22.7MM per year, an excellent price for one of the league’s best players at his position.
Wright, 25, has started all but two games at right tackle for the Bears since they drafted him out of Tennessee with the No. 10 overall pick in 2023. Chicago traded down one spot, allowing Philadelphia to climb up for Jalen Carter. Days after Carter set an AAV record at his position, Wright follows suit, highlighting a win-win trade for the NFC teams.
Wright has taken clear steps forward in each year of his career, culminating in a second-team All-Pro berth last year as one of the most important parts of Chicago’s top-10 offense. Wright finished the season with a 98.1 pass blocking efficiency, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the sixth-best mark of any offensive tackle (min. 150 snaps). His pressures and sacks allowed decreased from 51 and seven as a rookie to 24 and three in 2025; his run-blocking grade rose from 66.0 to 82.7 in the same timeframe.
This deal represents a success for Bears general manager Ryan Poles. The fifth-year GM has rebuilt the Bears’ offensive line, which produced two All-Pros last season — Wright (second team) and Joe Thuney (first team). This monster contract represents Chicago’s continued investment in its offensive line after swinging trades for starting guards Thuney and Jonah Jackson last year and acquiring centers Garrett Bradbury and Logan Jones this offseason.
With the Bears not yet in the deep waters of the quarterback market, this is the most lucrative contract the franchise has handed out. Wright’s $29MM-per-year number tops D.J. Moore‘s ($27.5MM) for the biggest number in franchise history (the Bears offloaded that deal to the Bills in March, leaving Montez Sweat as the only $20MM-AAV player on the roster coming into today). Caleb Williams is on a clear path to eclipse this, but for now, a right tackle checks in as an NFL franchise’s record-setting contract.
The Bears have a few other players on expiring contracts for whom they could consider extensions, including cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter. Running back D’Andre Swift is also set to hit free agency next offseason. But the team’s financial planning is likely centered around extensions for Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze next offseason.
With three megadeals completed for 2023 draftees (Wright, Bijan Robinson, Zay Flowers) coming in a matter of hours, the Bears’ contract wraps one of the NFL’s most consequential extension days in recent history. The 2023 draft class has now seen six first-rounders agree to extensions, matching the 2017 and 2022 classes for most deals for Round 1 talent with two years remaining on a rookie contract. Five of those accords, with only Flowers’ Tuesday Ravens agreement marking an exception, have set position records.
