Life comes at you fast, and in Khalil Mack's case life just came sprinting up with a briefcase full of cash. The Bears handed their newly-acquired defensive star a $141 million, six-year extension with $90 million guaranteed, according to multiple reports.
Khalil Mack and the Bears just reached agreeement on a record-setting 6-year, $141 million extension ($23.5M per year avg) that includes $90M guaranteed and $60M at signing, source tells ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2018
Mack is the new highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
It's been a pretty, pretty, PRET-TAH good weekend for Mack, who went from "not talking to the team who drafted him and sitting out the start of the season" to "the highest-paid defender in NFL history on a spicy Bears that just gave up two first-round picks to get him." There are crazy implications for both sides of the deal.
Mack had been sitting out the offseason and preseason with the Raiders declining to negotiate with him and reportedly not speaking with Mack or making an offer to his camp since February. That's wild considering Mack has 40.5 sacks in four years and a Defensive Player of the Year award on his resume
The former No. 5 overall pick made it clear he wanted to be on the field, but there was simply no way to find even ground in negotiations.
When it was reported the Raiders wanted two first-round picks for Mack, it seemed like he might just be destined to miss some games and try and squeeze out whatever he could get for this season in order to accrue a year towards free agency.
Then Chicago and GM Ryan Pace stepped in and gave Mack everything he wanted, while ensuring the Raiders were sufficiently compensated for the loss of a franchise-caliber defender.
Trading Mack left Raiders players stunned, and rightfully so: the idea that Oakland would be waving a white flag on their season not long after signing Gruden to a 10-year, $100 million deal is pretty wild. But it's also clear the Raiders think they need to save some cash -- not signing Mack saves them at least $23 million in terms of cap space, obviously -- and acquire some younger talent as they head towards Las Vegas in 2020.
The Raiders now will have their young left tackle from the 2018 NFL Draft in Kolton Miller, along with two first-round picks in 2019 and two first-round picks in 2020. If they can hit on some players in those two drafts, they have a very good chance of putting together a nice core.
But it's a core that won't feature Mack, who is headed to Chicago, where he will be the highest-paid defender in NFL history shortly after signing the papers from the Bears.
It's a remarkable weekend for Mack, one that has Chicago football fans flying high at the possibility of an improved defense and a team that that can make some noise in the NFC playoff race.
