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Chapter 1: How much salary cap flexibility do the Bears currently have?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
I don't want to break time. I want to yell about you. Can we handle more Anthony Heron?
Middays 10 to 2 on 104.3 The Score. Where's the money, Lebowski?
The rug really brought the room together. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grote on 104.3 The Score. And to some people, the salary cap doesn't exist. It's fluid. I'm extending people until 2048. It's fine. How many times has Deshaun Watson's contract been restructured? I think we're at a million at this point. And to others, the cap actually does matter. And this was brought up all last week.
Fans, observers, trolls, your friends, your friends' friends.
frenemies everybody was talking about whether or not the bears cap could afford something like the roughly depends on the situation 35 some odd million dollar cap hit that max crosby was going to be and to some people would say oh the salary cap doesn't matter except ryan poles indicated that it did matter and the bears actions have indicated that it did matter then adam schefter just poured a whole bunch of gasoline on the fire on get up on friday
As we sit back and wonder what team might still make a move for Crosby as time goes on and as he gets healthier, I feel like the Bears are one to watch. What do you think? I don't. The Bears don't have any more money right now, Greeny. They're broke. They're out of money.
And so I know people love all this and coming up with concoctions and imaginations and scenarios where a team like the Bears could come up with a player like Max Crosby. Sorry to be a party pooper there, R.C. Hey, go, Lee, Jeffy! I hate it when you bring facts in. I know.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of restructuring player contracts?
Look, I'm salty about Colin Markow. I'm going to take it out on you guys. The Bears don't have the money to make a move like that right now.
This seems like a perfect opportunity for layaway. We discussed layaway earlier, Green. Not layaway.
But layaway is part of it. Like take, for example, the Eagles. The Eagles have kicked their salary cap out very far to play under that Jalen Hurts window. They have private equity that is involved. They've structured their team that way. The Bears don't have that. The only non-McCaskey family member on the board, for example, is Pat Ryan. It's a different deal.
And this isn't the only report that's out there, Mark.
No, I was just reading from a guy they call Cap, coincidentally. I see what you did there. See what I did there? I want to make sure everybody knew what I did there. Different spelling, though, right?
Sometimes they call him the Cap Man.
The Cap Man. Long live Sports Talk Live, where David Kaplan, who I'm about to read, would let me do my fugitive stuff. What is this, a trench coat convention? Here it is. Here it is from David Kaplan. So there is an uproar after Adam Schefter said the Bears are broke. Relax, he says. After making calls, here's the scoop. That was in reference to salary cap situation.
They have, the Bears, whatever they need financially if Poles wants to make a move. That's from David Kaplan right there. So you're conflicting reports.
Wait, wait, wait. What was all that broke talk out of Adam Schefter?
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Chapter 3: How does Ryan Poles view the Bears' financial situation?
Because obviously you can restructure as long as you have, well, the money, the cash to pay out roster bonuses and everything else that you need to be able to kick the can down the road.
Well, but here's here's the backdrop, though, is. What we also know is the money that they've talked about regarding a stadium and that they confront $2 billion of it, but they can't do what, say, Stan Kroenke did with SoFi and front $5 billion. The Bears are asset rich. They are not as liquid, the McCaskey family, as other owners are.
You know, for Jerry Jones, maybe he just dips out of the oil fund, writes a check, whatever. He didn't even have to worry about that. All $1 billion of that was public. But we do understand that talking about the Bears' money has become part of the discussion right now because of what's gone on.
And the actions would indicate, based on the combination of them not doing as much, you know, them not going after a guy like Max Crosby, even though Ryan Pohl said they were in on it. Brett Coleman just tells us about how important the 2027 draft is. That's a new wrinkle into this that hasn't been discussed as much.
But then there's the side of also, we're willing to go to Indiana if the state of Illinois doesn't give us what we want on the land we already bought. So there are some indications that through actions, they might not be as liquid as other teams are to be able to use that salary cap and try to kick the can down the road. Andrew Brandt said it was like a credit card payment.
Like, eventually you're going to have to pay off the bill. So we understand that as Cook County taxpayers paying just interest on loans, but... It's all worth discussion when you consider this.
We all know how high interest those loans can be if you just look at that money that's owed on the Bears' current residence, Soldier Field, and who's on the hook for it. Oh, that would be us, the taxpayers.
I think, really, this comes down to, did Ryan Poles want to, A, mortgage the future when you talk about the 2027 first round pick that might be up, or even a second round pick that might be up because of how deep that draft class is, and B, Did they just want a shot to draft and develop? Because that has not happened.
And if they're going to be a good football team during the Caleb Williams era, they're going to have to learn to draft and develop at other positions because eventually Caleb Williams is getting the bag.
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Chapter 4: What recent reports suggest about the Bears' financial status?
I think for Turner, I can say he's a rookie on a longer deal. It's fine. But for Isaiah specifically, all that money...
Well, what do you say to the fact that polls said that they were having discussions, that they were in on Max Crosby talks? What do you think about that?
Why wouldn't you be in on Max Crosby, no matter who's on your team?
Of course. I think they can be separate things. When you want to upgrade and you know it's not... That wasn't a championship or even...
divisional winner pass rush if you're rushing four down linemen it wasn't so when you consider that how much money can you work with now here's an example so lamar jackson had a cap number this year 74 million base salary 51. ravens converted 50 million of that into a bonus that bonus total of the 50 million is spread out over the cap over the remaining years of the contract but the cap hit goes down to 34.
So you kind of see what, there are ways to do it. Will the Bears do it? Now there's a difference. Is Ryan Poles willing to admit that he's wrong on something? Does that factor into the financial flexibility? I don't know that those are the same question or the same answer or the same result. I think that's what makes this difficult, right?
If it's a position that's obvious, like Trent Williams became available, they're obsessed with Trent Williams, would they do that deal? You know, that's the question. Do they have the financial flexibility, though, to do that where they can stretch it out like that to be able to do it?
I wouldn't want to do that for, I know you just used Trent as an example, but for him, where he is in his career.
But it's the cap hit similarity, the salary, the concept, the position of need.
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Chapter 5: What strategies can teams use to manipulate the salary cap?
So we're used to that. We're used to the Bears trading away first rounders for something they need. Like, I think that's why it's hard for a lot of people. There's a dissonance there because at least in draft capital, we're used to them doing that and being OK with it.
Can they do it this year? Can they do it to actually draft and develop a defensive lineman or an edge rusher?
It sounds like the latest fodder for your new returning show that I just created again called On the Clock.
Oh, no, no, no, no. Well, my answer to your question, Mark, is pretty simple.
But congratulations, Mark.
Butte got excited right there because he was one of our producers. Or not Butte, I'm sorry. We got two Tylers here. Baby T, sorry.
I don't want to be the harbinger of bad news here, but they better do it. Because if you look around and remember what happened last year and the guys who came up with all those takeaways, who aren't here anymore, they have to be better up front. Right now, I can't look at them objectively and say, oh yeah, they're better up front.
So when the draft happens and they add, and if they add through a second or third wave of free agency, whatever they come up with as their combination of guys to make this defense better, It better work or else they won't be repeating as NFC North champs.
You know who we always forget in all of this? And I do it all the time. And it's my favorite question. Is Austin Booker good?
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Chapter 6: How do the Bears compare to other teams in salary cap management?
D-A-N-G-B-O.
Like, as in, aw, dang, like that? Is that what we're doing?
Yeah, and then there was the one we got last week.
I owe the Dangbo. Yeah, that's way better. The double D?
Were you here for that? Yes.
The Dang. I was here for that. I owe the Dangbo.
the dang poor io bring back leonard floyd a texture says poor dio i i think part of this too is schefter is talking to agents you know when he says broke it's like is that broke through agents like guys trying to get their guys paid with available money right That makes it a little different, too. Coming up next here on Rahimi Harris and Grody, it is time for halftime.
And you guys think you're so clever with your personalized license plates, and then the state tries to stop you. But what happens when you come up with a good one that's G-rated? The state of New York had to say a battle is next.
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