The Bears will have their entire NFL draft class under contract as rookies report to training camp on Saturday at Halas Hall. No. 39 overall selection Luther Burden III’s deal was the only one unresolved entering Friday, but things have been settled now.
Team and player agreed to terms of a four-year rookie contract, his agency announced, which will be fully guaranteed over the life of the deal. Such a contract structure wasn’t achieved until this year, when a few picks atop the second round received it. That led to a standoff between teams and second-round picks that lasted most of the offseason, though deadlines spurn deals.
We’ve seen a bunch of movement with second-round contracts in recent days, including Bears pacts with second-rounders Ozzy Trapilo and Shemar Turner agreed upon Thursday. The Burden deal was seen as trickier, considering his draft slot near the top of the round and his placement just above New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough. Considering Shough’s status as the Saints’ presumptive starting quarterback, there seemed to he a high likelihood that he’d get a full-guaranteed salary. That would put Burden in a spot to ask for the same.
The Bears gave it to him anyway, without needing the Shough deal for direction or possible leverage. Per ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, his deal is worth a fully guaranteed $10.965 million.
If Burden works out the way the Bears expect, the guaranteed really won’t matter and he’ll earn his full salary over four productive seasons. The Missouri product thought he would be a first-round pick — he had a relative down year as a junior — but fell into early portions of the second round. The Bears picked him up at that point, adding him to a dynamic receiver corps that already includes DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, plus tight end and No. 10 overall pick Colston Loveland.
Burden suffered was head coach Ben Johnson dubbed a soft-tissue injury hauling in a deep ball during Bears rookie minicamp and missed the rest of the offseason program. He’s expected to be physically ready to start training camp, which begins for rookies on Saturday. The first full-squad practice is scheduled for Wednesday.