The Bears signed Ben Johnson to a historic contract.
For the third straight offseason, the Chicago Bears appear to be making all of the right moves, cementing a dynasty in this part of the season. However, this offseason feels different. In the 2025 offseason, the Bears appear to be making the right moves, aligning with what the fans hoped for. Most fans were excited about the Bears hiring Ben Johnson as the head coach, but those fans should be even more jazzed when they learn the record-breaking details of the contract, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin.
“The Bears do not publicly comment about the contracts of coaches and front office personnel, nor would Poles address whether he has assurances of receiving a contract extension when asked on Jan. 7,” Cronin wrote. “According to a team source with knowledge of the situation, Poles' deal runs through the 2026 season, and the expectation is he will receive an extension to align him with Johnson, who signed a five-year contract with Chicago, a term that is common for first-time head coaches.
“What's less common for first-time head coaches are substantial salaries. He's believed to be making $13 million per year, whereas Eberflus made $6 million. As one source put it, the Bears ‘didn't cut corners' when it came to paying Johnson.”
Now, Johnson signing a $65-million contract isn't what makes this so shocking.
Johnson — as a first-year head coach — surpassed Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald for the highest-paid “rookie” head coach.
Before Johnson joined the Bears, Macdonald signed a six-year, $54 million contract with the Seahawks, setting the record for the highest-paid first-year head coach.
However, Johnson holds the record, earning $13 million per year.
Considering Eberflus' salary was more than half of what Johnson got paid before ever being a head coach shows how much they wanted to get this deal done.
Bears beat ‘cheap' allegations with Ben Johnson's record-breaking contract
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George McCaskey and the Bears have been criticized in the past for being a frugal franchise, so the idea of them busting out the checkbook for a head coach is a foreign idea.
While times have seemingly changed, there's an anecdote from the legendary Steve “Mongo” McMichael from the Super Bowl XX championship team that showed how cheap the Bears were back in 1985, per ESPN.
“Baby, let me tell you about the night we got our Super Bowl rings. You think it'd be glorious, right? The 49ers got to get their rings in Honolulu, Hawaii…so I'm thinking, ‘Well, this is going to be a big-time thing.' I get the news we are having the ring ceremony at the Holiday Inn in Highwood, Illinois. … I show up at the dinner and [Bears coach] Mike Ditka is already half in the bag.
“We're sitting there waiting to get the rings and before we get the ring, he's already passed out in his plate of food sitting at the table with the McCaskeys. They start giving the rings out and I look at it — and it's a nice ring, diamonds and gold. But I heard the NFL allocates $4,000 per ring, and the owners can put more money into it to make it nicer. How much do you think that ring cost the Bears? $4,000.”
While Mongo's story tickles ribs, it gives validity to claims that the Bears don't like to spend money, or at least they didn't.
However, the tides appear to be changing in Lake Michigan after Cronin released Johnson's historic contract details.
