DJ Moore commits to Chicago Bears organization that ‘embraced me from the time I got here’

LAKE FOREST – The Chicago Bears were going through their team walkthrough Tuesday night when the team pulled receiver DJ Moore off the field. None of his teammates were quite sure what was going on. Moore did not return to the walkthrough.

When his teammates returned to the locker room after the walkthrough, the news was all over their phones. Moore and the Bears agreed to a four-year, $110 million contract extension.

As soon as news filtered through the locker room, there was a massive party in Moore’s honor.

“If you asked anybody, that was probably the turntest locker room I’ve ever been a part of,” Moore said. “It was going berserk when everybody got back to their phones and saw what happened.”

Moore wouldn’t elaborate much on what the celebration looked like, but he noted that it involved “champagne showers.” He later celebrated with his family over dinner at Popeyes.

The new contract ties Moore to the Bears through the 2029 NFL season. He still had two years remaining on his current contract. The new deal adds four years on top of that.

The $27.5 million that Moore will make annually beginning in 2026 marks the largest contract in Bears team history. It’s a significant raise for Moore, who will make $16 million in 2024 and 2025.

Moore felt like he had “outplayed” his current deal. Moore’s $16 million salary in 2024 ranks 16th among NFL receivers. Only four receivers will make more than $27.5 million in 2024 (Miami’s Tyreek Hill, the Rams’ Cooper Kupp, San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel and Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin).

Moore said the Bears sent Moore and his agents – Drew Rosenhaus, Jason Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey – an offer a few days earlier. Moore’s camp decided not to respond for a few days while they game planned. Then Moore’s agents visited Halas Hall in person Tuesday and knocked out the deal.

The organization embraced me from the time that I got here."

—  DJ Moore, Bears receiver

The 27-year-old Moore is entering his seventh NFL season in 2024 and his second as a member of the Bears. The Bears traded for him in March 2023 when they sent the No. 1 overall draft pick to the Carolina Panthers.

Moore was unquestionably the best receiver on the Bears’ roster last season. He led the team with 96 receptions for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns last year. His 1,364 receiving yards marked the fourth-best receiving season from a Bears player in team history – and that was on an offense that ranked 27th in passing.

“The organization embraced me from the time that I got here,” Moore said Wednesday after practice in Lake Forest. “From the time that we got traded to the time that ink got on that paper, it has been nothing but love and I hope that it’s always going to be that way.”

If the 3-14 season in 2022 was the teardown stage of general manager Ryan Poles’ rebuild, trading for Moore in March 2023 signaled the beginning of the build up. That continued this past offseason with the additions of veteran Keenan Allen and No. 9 overall draft pick Rome Odunze at wide receiver, and No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams at quarterback.

Allen, who the Bears traded for in March, is signed only through the 2024 season. Moore said he was already pushing for Allen to sign a new deal too.

“I did that [Tuesday],” Moore said. “I was like, man, listen. What’s your number? Let’s get it done.”

Allen’s number is probably high. He will make $23 million in 2024.

Poles has worked to lock down several of the team’s cornerstone pieces over the past year. Tight end Cole Kmet signed a four-year, $50 million deal last August. Defensive end Montez Sweat signed a four-year, $98 million deal in November after the Bears traded for him. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson signed a four-year, $76 million contract in March.

On rookie contracts, Williams and Odunze will be under team control for at least the next four seasons, and the team has fifth-year options on both.

Poles has the makings of what he hopes is an up-and-coming team that can play at a high level for the next handful of years.

“Now we’ve got to go out there and win,” Moore said. “Starting with the division and go from there.”