When the Chicago Bears overhauled their offensive line last offseason, familiarity drove the move to acquire guard Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams. Jackson spent the first four seasons of his career with the Detroit Lions, overlapping with then-offensive coordinator Ben Johnson the entire time.
The question that ultimately surfaced was how Jackson fit into the plan. Primarily a left guard by trade previously, he became the Bears' right guard and he struggled early in the season. He has turned things around since then though, and entering Week 16 he's Pro Football Focus' 12th-highest graded guard with the 10th-best run blocking grade at the position.
When the Bears acquired Jackson, they also added a year to the two years he had remaining on his original contract with the Rams. Guaranteed money was moved around or locked in, as is common in contract re-dos, along with salary escalators, etc.
Jonah Jackson is set to earn the full extent of his salary bonus for 2026
As part of Jackson's contract restructure when the Bears acquired him, a potential total of $5 million in salary escalators for 2026 and 2027 were tied to the percentage of offensive snaps he played and the team's success in the previous season.
As the 2025 season winds down and players are getting close to cashing in incentive bonuses and such, Joel Corry of CBS Sports featured Jackson among 15 noteworthy NFL players who are set to cash in.
"Jackson renegotiated the final two years of his contract worth $34.5 million into a three-year, $44.5 million deal when he was acquired from the Los Angeles Rams for a 2025 sixth-round pick in March. Salary escalators make the deal worth as much as $49.5 million."
"Jackson's $12.25 million 2026 base salary goes up by $312,500 for at least 55%, 65%, 75% and 85% offensive playtime. The amount earned doubles with the Bears making the playoffs. Jackson has been on the field for 948 of Chicago's 969 offensive plays (97.83%). At 10-4, the Bears are leading the NFC North."
With three games left in the regular season, Jackson has locked in the 55 percent, 65 percent, and 75 percent snap share thresholds to activate those $312,500 escalators. If he plays every offensive snap in Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers, or even somewhere close, he should lock in the 85 percent snap share threshold for the season, too. That would bump his 2026 base salary by $1.25 million, and if the currently 10-4 Bears make the playoffs, it would increase to $2.5 million.
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Jackson has theoretically earned a pay boost solely on the basis of his performance this season. But after injuries had impacted him in recent years, the Bears smartly tied salary escalators to how much he played. Then he went out and earned what's lined up to be the whole $2.5 million extra for 2026 by playing practically every offensive snap thus far, and the team is doing well.