The Chicago Bears and middle linebacker Brian Urlacher have reached an agreement on a restructured contract according to ESPN.com.
Urlacher, 30, had four years and approximately $25.5 million remaining on his contract. Under the terms of the upgraded deal, Urlacher will receive a $6 million signing bonus along with a $1 million bump in salary each of the next four years. The sides also have agreed to extend the pact into 2012, at a salary of $7.5 million. Urlacher can earn an additional $500,000 in a workout bonus in 2012.
That’s a total of roughly $43.5 million over the next five years, with $18 million in new money for the six-time Pro Bowler and four-time All Pro.
Boy, the Bears certainly go about things the hard way sometimes, but they’ve made their star players happy (of late). Lance Briggs got a new contract at the start of the 2007 season and now Urlacher is set to go until 2012.
Even though he was hampered by nagging injuries last year, there’s no denying Urlacher is still Chicago’s best option at middle linebacker in their Tampa 2 defense. With how important the position is in that type of defense, the Bears could ill afford not to pay Urlacher and have him back on the field in 2008.
