It was warned months ago that Caleb Williams and his father had radical ideas about the quarterback’s entry to the NFL. One possibility was doing away with the draft entirely and instituting a professional recruiting pitch akin to free agency. Another was giving the quarterback equity in the franchise that drafts him. The NFL dismissed both ideas without a second thought. Adam Schefter reported that Williams was still searching for ways he might be able to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement in whatever contract he signed with the Chicago Bears.
We finally discovered one of those methods. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, one of Williams’ primary requests of the Bears was to place a no-franchise tag clause in his contract. This way, the team would be legally obligated not to tag him after five seasons, allowing him to enter free agency sooner. Unsurprisingly, the Bears refused. Such a move would’ve been unprecedented. No rookie player in NFL history had ever received a no-tag clause in their contract.
As the Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams haggle over remaining language in his rookie deal, there’s one clause that definitely won’t be added.
Per multiple sources, Williams asked the Bears to agree not to use the franchise tag upon expiration of his rookie contract. The Bears declined.
Although multiple veteran players have secured such a commitment (e.g., Dak Prescott), no rookie has finagled a promise that they won’t be tagged. Williams arguably had the leverage to accomplish it.
If this were before 2011, before the rookie wage scale was implemented, the quarterback would’ve had more bargaining power. Owners grew tired of such unproven players getting so much money, which is why the first contracts are so rigorously structured. There isn’t much room for negotiation. The best thing Williams can do is seek injury offset language and higher guarantees. One can safely assume that is what his team of business experts is currently reviewing. Seeking a no-tag clause was bold, but the Bears weren’t desperate enough to bend on that point.
While the contract isn’t technically signed yet, everything points to it happening shortly. Caleb Williams isn’t keen to miss training camp practices in such an important first year. Veterans report to Halas Hall on July 19th. A safe assumption is the papers will have his signature by then. That he verbally agreed to the deal was an important step in the right direction. Chicago has never expressed any panic during the process. They seem confident things will get done.
