GM Ryan Poles understood the problems with the Chicago Bears from the moment he stepped into Halas Hall. The biggest problem by far was their salary cap situation. It was a mess due largely to former GM Ryan Pace handing out some huge contracts to players that were mostly not living up to them. Cleaning that situation up was a top priority. He understood that if the Bears were going to become a consistent contender in the future, they would need a more flexible cap situation.
It appears he succeeded. The team went into the 2023 off-season with the most cap space of any franchise by far. Not only that, but it appears Poles has kept their options wide open looking into the distant future. Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus is renowned as one of the top salary cap experts in the business. He did some deep research to determine which teams have the best and worst money situations looking ahead three years. The Bears sit comfortably in 4th, fueled by a young roster and a bevy of high draft picks in the near future.
It sounds exciting.
“The Bears went from 29th in active draft capital in 2022 to sixth this year after moving veterans such as linebacker Roquan Smith and edge defender Robert Quinn at the trade deadline. And despite a free agency where the team ranked fourth in total guarantees given to external free agents, Chicago still ranks second in effective cap space for 2023-25.
However, the Bears went from ranking dead last in top 51 veteran valuation — earning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft — to just 28th despite all the recent additions. The growth will come from a roster that is currently the fourth youngest in the NFL, and if Justin Fields takes the next step this season, Chicago still has a ton of ammo with an extra first-round pick in 2024 from the Carolina Panthers.”
The Chicago Bears are following the Chiefs model well.
What is often overlooked about Kansas City’s success over the past decade is how well they’ve managed their finances. While they do hand out massive deals from time to time, they never go overboard. They’ve often been willing to let talented players walk or trade to maintain cap flexibility. This allows them to be aggressive when opportunities present themselves. See their acquisitions of Joe Thuney and Orlando Brown in 2021 as perfect examples. They’d already done that after handing out megadeals to Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones.
Poles has seen how it’s done for years. That is how he wants to approach the Chicago Bears. Build through the draft, save your biggest contracts for homegrown players, and maintain enough cap flexibility to take calculated swings from time to time. We saw glimpses of that approach this off-season. The Bears drafted 10 players while also handing out one big contract in free agency.
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