Ben Johnson contract details give us 14.5M reasons why Bears were right choice

For the second consecutive offseason, Ben Johnson was the biggest name when it came to available head coaches, and could seemingly fill whichever opening he wanted to, with the exception of the New England Patriots, who appeared to be fixated on Mike Vrabel from the jump.

Less than 48 hours after the Detroit Lions season ended, Johnson picked his destination. He was going to be the newest head coach of the Chicago Bears.

If you were looking for the main reason as to why Johnson decided to head to the Windy City, look no further than Johnson's reported contract details. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the over/under with Johnson's contract is set at $14.5 million annually. That alone is enough of a reason to sway Johnson.

Money may have had a lot to do with Ben Johnson's head coaching decision

To be fair, things like the quarterback and overall roster undoubtedly had something to do with Johnson's decision, too. He gets to coach Caleb Williams, a quarterback who was given a generational prospect label when the Bears selected him No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, with four years of his rookie contract remaining. He's set to inherit a Bears team that has guys like DJ Moore and Rome Odunze locked in, and had a pretty solid defense in 2024 as well, while also getting to coach in a big market for a passionate fan base.

With that being said, we can't act as if money isn't the ultimate deciding factor in professional sports. Had a team like the Las Vegas Raiders or Jacksonville Jaguars outbid the Bears, especially if they did so by a substantial margin, do we really think he would wind up taking the Chicago opening? It's undoubtedly more attractive than the other options, but money does talk.

Should the Bears organization or fans care about this? Absolutely not. They got the most coveted head coach of the past two cycles. Johnson led a top-five offense in each of his three seasons with the Lions, and led the NFL's most dynamic offense in 2024. Obviously, the Bears don't have Detroit's skill position talent, but Johnson's creativity combined with the talent that the Bears do have and Williams under center understandably has Bears fans dreaming big.

At the end of the day, the only people Johnson's money impacts are Johnson himself and Bears ownership. It's not as if Johnson's salary impacts the cap in any way. The Bears did exactly what every team should do - spend a substantial amount of money to get the clearest coaching advantage possible. Johnson has the potential to be one of the best head coaches in the NFL, and if things work out, he might be in Chicago for a very long time. What motivated him to come to Chicago and how much he's making is irrelevant if he's winning football games.

Hopefully, the Bears continue to spend major money on coordinators. Johnson knows just how important having good coordinators is from his experience in Detroit. All Bears fans can do is hope that the McCaskey's agree.