Official 2026 Free Agency/Offseason/Non-Draft Thread

[pbmax]

Aaaaahhhhhhhh, the Gary Bears. LMFAO.

What happened to Arlington

[Joemailman]

Tex Western
@texwestern.bsky.social

They're gonna have to move all the Urlacher hair plugs billboards from around O'Hare down to 80/94

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Aaaaahhhhhhhh, the Gary Bears. LMFAO.

It’s kinda funny til you realize that it would be smart as fuck for Illinois to let Indiana pay for a stadium that would still benefit Illinois’ economy positively.

If rich Bobble offered to buy me a nice house in the urps so I could avoid smokers smoking inside city apartments, wouldn’t I be stupid to turn down his offer?

[Joemailman]

Andrew Brandt
@AndrewBrandt

I know the Bears are moving forward with an Indiana site. And I know they've struck out for public funding from Illinois...so far. But hard to believe this is over. Now they have a legitimate leverage play; we'll see where it goes. Socialize cost; privatize profit.

[MadScientist]

Aaaaahhhhhhhh, the Gary Bears. LMFAO.

Gary used to stink from the steel mills. Now they can have the stench of the Bears.

[Joemailman]

Ian Rapoport
@rapsheet.bsky.social

The Chiefs and star QB Patrick Mahomes have agreed to terms on another groundbreaking contract extension, with this one worth a total value of $504.75M from 2026 to 2033, per me and Adam Schefter.

[Fritz]

That seems like an awful, awful lot of money . . . especially for a football player who, I think, is 30 years old. He's got maybe six good seasons left, so I'm assuming the Queefs built in an "out" after four or five years.

[bobblehead]

That seems like an awful, awful lot of money . . . especially for a football player who, I think, is 30 years old. He's got maybe six good seasons left, so I'm assuming the Queefs built in an "out" after four or five years.

The out is that the window will be closed on Owls so they can eat some cap space, or if they still feel competitive they can restructure then and kick it down the road a bit more.

edit: Turns 31 right around opening day

[run pMc]

It looked to me like a lot of that money is guaranteed year by year

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/21751/patrick-mahomes

Contract Notes

• $150.25 million guaranteed at signing (2026 compensation, 2027 compensation, $35.5M of 2028 salary)
• Additional $24.75M of 2028 salary + a $30M 2029 bonus fully guarantees March 2028
• Additional $32.5M of 2029 salary + a $30M 2030 bonus fully guarantees March 2029
• Additional $33.75M of 2030 salary + a $30M 2031 bonus fully guarantees March 2030
• Additional $35.75M of 2031 salary + a $30M 2032 bonus fully guarantees March 2031
• Additional $38M of 2032 salary fully guarantees March 2032
• All $70M of 2033 salary fully guarantees March 2033
• 2027-2033 Roster Bonus: $30M (paid each May 5th, guaranteed as per above)

But yeah, the Chiefs aren't going far without Mahomes. He's been near-GOAT level when healthy, might as well hitch your wagon to him. The rules are such that QBs can play well into/until their late 30s.

[run pMc]

It looked to me like a lot of that money is guaranteed year by year

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/21751/patrick-mahomes

Contract Notes

• $150.25 million guaranteed at signing (2026 compensation, 2027 compensation, $35.5M of 2028 salary)
• Additional $24.75M of 2028 salary + a $30M 2029 bonus fully guarantees March 2028
• Additional $32.5M of 2029 salary + a $30M 2030 bonus fully guarantees March 2029
• Additional $33.75M of 2030 salary + a $30M 2031 bonus fully guarantees March 2030
• Additional $35.75M of 2031 salary + a $30M 2032 bonus fully guarantees March 2031
• Additional $38M of 2032 salary fully guarantees March 2032
• All $70M of 2033 salary fully guarantees March 2033
• 2027-2033 Roster Bonus: $30M (paid each May 5th, guaranteed as per above)

But yeah, the Chiefs aren't going far without Mahomes. He's been near-GOAT level when healthy, might as well hitch your wagon to him. The rules are such that QBs can play well into/until their late 30s. IF he starts to suck they can get out of it with some cap pain but they'll be rebuilding anyway.

[bobblehead]

Brady was a unicorn in that he cared about his health more than about anyone. Sleeping in oxygen chambers, measuring his diet out to the gram, embracing everything science offered. Some guys take it seriously, but no one like that. Even he slowed down by 40. Maholmes has a dad bod. I'm not sure he stays effective after 35. And posters who thought that Rodgers could play well into his 40s were fools who ignored the fact that he wasn't exactly a workout warrior who ate clean all the time either.

[texaspackerbacker]

I don't suppose bobblehead has the balls to read this unless somebody quotes it, but all that nutritional and other weird health shit is exactly that - shit. And Rodgers indeed is playing fairly effectively well into his 40s. I wouldn't be surprised if Mahomes does too. It depends mostly on how much fun he is having.

Obviously I'm not an NFL athlete, not even a college or HS football player, but I say from first hand experience at age 79 that sacrificing happiness to "eat right" or whatever is absolutely unnecessary and probably counter-productive. Having fun and eating whatever the hell you like is where it's at. Anybody who thinks otherwise, I'll not only outlive you by a wide margin, but beat you at tennis too.