Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace looked like a man who knew exactly what was coming when he and head coach Matt Nagy sat down for their first press conference of training camp. The biggest news by far was the fact that prized 1st round draft pick Roquan Smith had not reported to camp. The reason for this being a continued standoff on his rookie contract.
Pace didn’t seem perturbed by the issue. He insisted this is something that tends to happen a lot around the league. He’s not wrong. Several 1st rounders from other teams remain unsigned as well. He called the situation a process that they’re continuing to work through and he remains optimistic the deal will get done and Smith will report in the near future.
Mitch Trubisky also took a long time to sort out as well last year. He didn’t get his contract signed until the day training camp began. So it’s probably not wise to panic on the Smith situation just yet. That being said, it’s fair to ask the question. What exactly could be holding things up?
Roquan Smith impasse likely centered around money structure
The thing about NFL contracts is they’re long and complicated. What makes it even more so is they’re not all the same, even thanks to the rookie wage scale. For example, contracts for players take in the top five of the 1st round are different for those taken between #6 and #10. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explained how this impacts Smith.
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“So what’s the issue? The renewed wrestling match over offset language, as one league source explained it to PFT, is more of a problem at the very top of round one. At the bottom of the top 10 (Smith was No. 8), the impasse comes more from issues like the language that voids future guaranteed money and the structure of roster bonuses paid in future years.”
In other words, Smith’s agent is trying to arrange the language of the deal in such a way that the guaranteed money and roster bonuses benefit his client the most. Pace and the Bears front office, in turn, are trying to resist giving too much ground in order to benefit the team. Pace has never shown a willingness to bend in these situations, which would explain why things continue to move slowly.
The good news is this is not something that’s likely to result in a long holdout. Smith doesn’t seem the type of player who will take such a firm stance on what is a rather modest amount of money compared to what he should be able to make on his next contract. Odds are the matter should be settled in the next few days.
