Cutler all smiles
By TOM MUSICK -- Shaw Suburban Media
LAKE FOREST – If Jay Cutler’s wardrobe was any indication, a two-year, $30 million contract extension did little to change him Wednesday.
As he stood in front of a half-dozen cameras at Halas Hall, Cutler wore a blue Bears hat pulled low over his eyes, and a day or two’s stubble dotted his face. A lectern blocked the rest of his outfit – a gray hooded sweatshirt, orange gym shorts and a pair of brown, furry slippers.
Hey, he didn’t sign a modeling contract.
Cutler and Bears general manager Jerry Angelo addressed the media a day after announcing a contract extension that will keep the quarterback in Chicago through the 2013 season. Both sides said they were happy with the deal, which placed Cutler in the upper echelon of big-wallet quarterbacks.
“I think it was mutual,” Cutler said before practice. “I wanted to be here awhile. I think the Bears wanted me to be here awhile. So it worked out both ways.”
The Bears did not intend to discuss a contract extension with Cutler or his agent, Bus Cook, until after this season, Angelo said. But Cook approached the team after quarterbacks Eli Manning and Philip Rivers signed deals worth nearly $100 million apiece, and the Bears were willing to listen.
Cutler’s deal extended a six-year, $48 million contract that he signed with Denver in 2006.
“When we were able to find that common ground, then we were able to move on it,” Angelo said. “We felt, given the uncertainty of the [collective bargaining agreement], given the fact that we had the cap room, this was a good time for us.”
The possibility exists that teams will enter next season without a salary cap, which could dramatically alter spending ceilings and floors throughout the league. The NFL’s labor agreement with the players’ union expires after the 2010 season, and a work stoppage is possible for 2011.
Cutler said the uncertainty played a role in his desire to sign an extension. As part of Cutler’s deal, his $12 million roster bonus due for 2011 reportedly was moved up to this season.
“I think every player in the league is probably concerned with that,” Cutler said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, if there’s going to be a lockout or what’s going to happen. The [NFL Players Association] is advising everyone to save money. Any money you can get before that point is going to be good for any player.”
The early agreement also was good for the Bears.
“It helps our planning going forward,” said Angelo, who also praised Cutler's loyalty to the team. “This will not impede us [from] anything we need to do in free agency moving forward.
“In fact, it’s going to help us now because there is real clarity,” Angelo said. “Jay was always in the plans. It was just [a question of] when we were going to do it and how much it was going to cost.”
Cutler will be 30 years old when his new contract expires. He laughed when asked whether he was scouting any teams for his next big contract after the 2013 season.
“No,” Cutler said. “I’m done with this moving stuff. Hopefully I’m here for the rest of my career.”
