The Chicago Bears have signed wide receiver DJ Moore to a four-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday night. Financial terms were not disclosed, but multiple league sources confirmed the deal is worth $110 million with $82.6 million guaranteed.
Moore is coming off his best season, when he had 1,364 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, despite being part of the league’s 27th-ranked passing offense. He was far and away the team’s best player in 2023 after general manager Ryan Poles acquired him as part of the trade with the Panthers for the No. 1 pick.
“I’m extremely excited to be able to re-sign DJ,” Poles said. “We all know he’s an impact player and a difference-maker for our offense, but his leadership and professionalism make him a cornerstone of our franchise.”
At only 27 and having played in every game over the past three seasons, Moore was worthy of an extension. His original contract, which runs through 2025, had him 17th among receivers in average salary. The four-year extension, which keeps him under contract in Chicago through 2029, slots him seventh.
More importantly, the $82.6 million guaranteed is the third-most for a wide receiver, trailing only Justin Jefferson and A.J. Brown. It’s the biggest contract in Bears franchise history, besting Montez Sweat’s four-year, $98 million contract last year. Moore’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was at Tuesday’s training camp practice in Lake Forest.
In addition to being a weapon on the field, Moore has been well-respected in the building for everything he’s been since arriving at Halas Hall.
“Our best player has got to be our hardest workers and they’ve gotta be our best finishers and they’ve gotta be available to practice out there and DJ certainly is that,” coach Matt Eberflus said in May. “He’s as tough as they come and he is a great teammate and he is our hardest worker and one of our most talented guys. That’s the example all of the young guys follow because No. 1, the talent, but then they see the work ethic.”
Moore’s contract running through 2029 lines him up with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. The No. 1 pick now knows he’ll have Moore and fellow rookie Rome Odunze under contract for at least his first five seasons as a Bear.
The team’s top players are locked in for several years. Pro Bowlers Jaylon Johnson and Montez Sweat, plus tight end Cole Kmet are under contract through 2027. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds’ deal goes through 2026, and T.J. Edwards’ expires after 2025.
The only remaining contract questions for Poles heading into 2025 are wide receiver Keenan Allen and guard Teven Jenkins, whose deals are up after this season. With Moore and Odunze set for half a decade, there’s less pressure to commit big money to the 32-year-old Allen, but the Bears also remain in good financial shape. Williams won’t have to be paid until 2027 at the earliest, and several other starters — Darnell Wright, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Jaquan Brisker, Gervon Dexter and Braxton Jones — are on rookie contracts. This is the time to pay your best players.
Moore has already been a common target for Williams on the field, and that connection should only grow. We’ve also seen how Moore was the “star” of the Bears’ schedule release video. He figures to be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” — and it wouldn’t be surprising if the show devoted air time to this extension.
