The Chicago Bears signed Bobby Massie to a four-year deal. How do the guarantees look?
When Bobby Massie was re-signed by the Chicago Bears it was not much of a surprise. When he signed a four-year extension it was a bit more surprising. That is because Massie was over the age of 30 and likely had played his best football already.
While he was coming off of a strong season, he still was one of the weaker pieces of the line and it is tough to say his play will improve over the next four years. Most thought a two-year deal would have been plenty.
However, while the Chicago Bears did give Massie four year deal, the numbers and guarantees can show it to be not nearly as bad. The Chicago Tribune has all of the numbers here.
Massie is only getting $15.8 million in guarantees, and those guarantees only kick in over his first two seasons. Next year, Massie will cash in close to $10 million. However, due to a big signing bonus, the Bears will only be on the books for $3.8.
The following year he has a base salary of $6.9 million which is fully guaranteed. The cap hit would $8.2 million in 2020, and it would not help the Chicago Bears much to move on from him. The next two years show a $9.3 million cap hit. However, both years are option years that the Bears can get out of with no dead cap hits.
The Chicago Bears essentially gave Massie a two-year, $15.8 million deal with a two-year, $18.3 million option behind that.
Massie is getting paid fair for what tackles of his skill level are getting. The Bears get a starter for the next two years, and while they can hold onto Massie, can also get out of his contract is old age, or Rashaad Coward catches up to him. This deal looks like a win-win.