The Chicago Bears have high expectations heading into the 2025 season, as they brought in arguably the most coveted head coaching candidate in Ben Johnson to help turn the team's luck around. Johnson notably helped turn the Detroit Lions into an offensive juggernaut, and the Bears brought him in to help Caleb Williams live up to the hype as the 2024 first-overall pick.
The Bears have two top wide receivers in DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. The hope is that rookie and second-round pick Luther Burden III. Burden was hyped as one of the top receivers in the 2025 class, but managed to fall to Day 2, but was quickly added by the Bears. However, the Bears, and many other teams, dealt with their second round picks holding out as they sought fully or nearly-fully guaranteed contracts. But the dominoes began falling this past Wednesday. And now, the Bears have avoided drama heading into training camp.
According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Bears and Burden agreed to terms on a fully-guaranteed $10.965 million contract.
Chicago Bears reached agreement today with second-round pick WR Luther Burden III on a fully-guaranteed, $10.965 million contract, marking the first time in NFL history that the 39th pick has secured a fully-guaranteed deal, per the @WINSportsGroup. pic.twitter.com/NuMzmRo0IL
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 18, 2025
Bears, Luther Burden III end contract drama and agree to terms on rookie deal
This is promising news not just for Bears fans, but also for Johnson and Williams.
Burden was initially missing time this offseason due to a soft tissue injury. Even though Johnson understood that, he did detail exactly what Burden was missing by not participating in OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
"He misses a lot," Johnson said, h/t Sports Illustrated. "Any time you're not out there, if you're in the training room when the rest of the guys are practicing, you're losing valuable time; valuable time with your coaches, valuable reps with your teammates, the ability to build the trust that we're talking about.
"It's not just the coaching staff having trust in you, doing the right thing over and over, but it's also your teammates. They have to be out there. They have to see you do it. They have to know that the guy to the right and the left of them are going to do the right things, and they're going to make the plays when called upon."
Now, Burden should be good to go for training camp. This will allow the motivated rookie, who is looking to make the other 31 teams in the league regret passing on him, to build much-needed chemistry with Williams. Moore will be the quarterback's top target. Odunze is looking to bounce back from what was a rough rookie season. Now that Keenan Allen is no longer on the team, Burden is easily the third-best option on Chicago's passing offense.
Burden made a name for himself during the 2023 season with the Missouri Tigers, where he caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games. This past season at Missouri, Burden's numbers dropped a bit, logging 61 receptions for 676 yards and six touchdowns. But still, Burden should be a major weapon in Chicago's offense.
Getting the contract drama out of the way will work wonders for the Bears this summer, as they build towards getting out of the shadows of the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and Lions in the NFC North to make it to the playoffs.